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Saturday, January 6, 2007
posted by jason | 10:42 PM | permalink
Romney, knowing the fiscal prudence of low taxes, has enlisted the help of several key people from Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, Novak reported today:


During his family vacation in Park City, Utah, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney met with former Bush administration officials who comprise his economic policy team to discuss a tax reform for Romney's presidential campaign.

The meeting included Glenn Hubbard, former chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) who is co-chairman of Romney's economic policy council. Also on hand were former Bush economic policy officials Brian Reardon and Cesar Conda. Gregory Mankiw, another former CEA chairman, is Romney's economic co-chairman but could not attend the Utah meeting because of a knee injury.

Romney, seeking to contrast himself with Republican presidential front-runner John McCain on taxes, has surrounded himself with architects of Bush's tax plan. Vice President Dick Cheney had to cast a tie-breaking vote on the 2003 tax cuts because Sen. McCain had voted against them.


We can expect a strong fiscal performance from Romney.
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posted by jason | 6:49 PM | permalink

Justin Hart, our Web Designer extraordinaire, will be live blogging from the Romney Kick-off Monday in Boston for MyManMitt. Be sure to tune in!
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posted by Myclob | 6:13 PM | permalink
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posted by Justin Hart | 5:30 PM | permalink

Reasons to agree

  1. Former Senate staffer
  2. Former Senator Smith
  3. Few people like Mccain in the Senate .
  4. Former Rep John Leboutillier
  5. Pat Murphy
  6. Paul Johnson
  7. Judy Leiby
  8. Jim Abbott, the supervisor of the Coronado National Forest
  9. Marty Russo
  10. Robin Silver and Bob Witzeman

Reasons to disagree

  1. Anyone who has been in the Senate for as long as McCain has made a lot of enemies.
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posted by Justin Hart | 5:29 PM | permalink

Reasons to agree

  1. When asked about his temper, McCain has portrayed himself as angry about issues. "Do I feel passionately about issues? Absolutely," McCain has said. "Do I get angry when I see pork barreling and wasteful spending? Absolutely." But McCain's outbursts have not been directed at policy issues or waste. Instead, even if they are longtime friends, he explodes at people who disagree with him or who tell him they cannot support him.
  2. McCain's aides say that McCain himself was the last to recognize that he had a reputation as a hothead, and used to rail at them in private every time a public commentator suggested he had a problem, shouting, "I do not have a temper. I just care passionately."
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posted by Justin Hart | 5:28 PM | permalink

Reasons to agree"

  1. When McCain ran for the Republican nomination for president in 2000, only four Republican senators endorsed him.
  2. "I have witnessed incidents where he has used profanity at colleagues and exploded at colleagues. He would disagree about something and then explode. It was incidents of irrational behavior. We've all had incidents where we have gotten angry, but I've never seen anyone act like that." - Former Senator Bob Smith, a New Hampshire Republican who served with McCain on the Senate Armed Services Committee and on Republican policy committees.
  3. "He had very few friends in the Senate. He has a lot of support around the country, but I don't think he has a lot of support from people who know him well." - Former Senator Smith, who dealt with McCain almost daily.
  4. Another former senator who requested anonymity recalled an exchange at a Republican policy lunch. McCain turned on another senator who disagreed with him. "McCain used the f-word," the former senator said. "McCain called the guy a 'sh--head.' The senator demanded an apology. McCain stood up and said, 'I apologize, but you're still a sh--head.' That was in front of 40 to 50 Republican senators. That sort of thing happened frequently."
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posted by Justin Hart | 5:27 PM | permalink

Reasons to agree:

  1. Few people like Mccain in the Senate.
  2. McCain is arrogant.
  3. McCain holds grudges.
  4. Anger is a problem.
  5. McCain is in denial with regard to his anger problem .
  6. In 1993, the Boston Globe reported that McCain "came across the Senate floor and, while mocking Ted Kennedy, told him to 'shut up,' according to observers in the chamber. "A stunned Kennedy returned the comment, telling McCain to 'shut up' and 'act like a senator.'"
  7. Dan Schnur says he thinks the temper issue has faded: "He's had six years of practice. In 1999 the attention crashed down on us like a ton of bricks. It came out of nowhere, and there was no preparation for it. He's had that level of attention now for seven years, which makes me suspect that his temperament isn't going to be nearly as much of an issue this time as last. "But there's a flip side to that," Schnur adds. "He traveled on that bus for months with four or five reporters, and one of the nice things about starting slow is you get to try out your act Off Broadway. There's no Off Broadway over the next two years. It's all spotlight. An offhand remark in 1999 vanishes without a trace. In 2007 it's on cable television for three weeks."
  8. He wastes no time on niceties.

Reasons to disagree:
  1. Other good politicians have had anger problems.
  2. If JFK could keep his marital affairs from harming his job, then McCain can probably find a way to keep his anger from harming the job. He tells people that he is going to blow off steam, and make a decision latter (however is their evidence that McCain sees his anger as a problem? No, he says he is just passionate).
  3. From what I can tell, McCain's temper is not so much worse than that of many other politicians I have known, from Rudy Giuliani to Bill Clinton.
  4. He no longer calls reporters "liars" and "idiots," as he once did, when he was starting out in politics in Arizona.

Articles that agree
  1. McCain's Out-of-Control Anger: Does He Have the Temperament to Be President? Ronald Kessler Wednesday, July 5, 2006
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posted by Justin Hart | 5:27 PM | permalink

Reasons to agree:

Reasons to disagree:
  1. McCain was able to put his differences between former enemies like Bush and Falwel, in order to advance his agenda.
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posted by jason | 8:11 AM | permalink
With the inauguration of Deval Patrick the Commonwealth of Massachusetts returns to the suicidal tendencies of it's past. Apparently the inauguration parties have left Patrick a little punch-drunk as he eagerly overturns the spending cuts of the Romney administration:


Haverhill, for instance, will receive $2.6 million in Hale Hospital debt relief, money needed to keep the city's budget balanced.

Funding for Pettengill House, the Newburyport YWCA, the Lower Merrimack Valley Boys & Girls Club, Salisbury's Historical Society, Amesbury's Cultural Council and Salisbury's Chamber of Commerce also were restored.

Salem State College, which lost $800,000 for its nursing program, will see that money. The state will also pay $500,000 for Peabody flood prevention and $400,000 for the dredging of Crystal Lake.

Romney cut $425 million in state spending on Nov. 9, saying there wasn't money to pay for those items. Link


Romney left office with the distinction of having governed every year with a balanced budget. The last year was highlighted by Romney's constant vetoing of the state legislatures spending sprees. Of course kids in candy shops never want to be denied, and the outrage of the liberal legislature was oozing as we well remember.

Some of you might remember the other Romney cuts that Patrick has now restored:

1. Victorian Street lighting in Melrose ($200,000)

2. A gazebo for Braintree ($100,000- thats an expensive gazebo!)

3. Study for the internal combustion engine ($4,000,000- isn't that Ford's job?)

4. Money for the Hyannis Athletic Association ($75,000 well I guess Ted Kennedy is a little portly!)

Yet where the stupidity ends the irony begins. In a remarkable show of cognitive dissonance Pork-Barrel-Patrick has claimed Romney left a deficit "hidden" in the details that Patrick will somehow fix:


"It's a very significant structural deficit," Patrick said. "We have to deal with that, and we will deal with that. There's no reason to panic." Link


(I have no doubt this claim is brought to you by the DNC commitee for 2008)

There wouldn't be a reason to panic if a) There was really a deficit and b) Patrick was intent on cutting spending. Yet when Patrick has plans to fix his imaginary deficit while increasing spending, one is left to wonder how he will accomplish this.

Barbara Anderson, founder of Citizens for Limited Taxation, said Patrick's pronouncement gives her a sense of deja vu.

She said a new, reform-minded governor named Michael Dukakis came into office claiming he was left a fiscal mess in 1975 and responded by raising taxes.


Like a dog returning to it's vomit, Massachusetts has decided return to the days of high spending and high taxes to fix a mess that never existed. How often do the liberals need to be reminded that cutting taxes and spending always leads to a balanced budget? How often do liberals need to be reminded of the failures of past administrations who have gone down this same road?

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Friday, January 5, 2007
posted by Justin Hart | 2:51 PM | permalink

Governor Mitt Romney is a flip-floper?

Reasons to agree

  1. Romney changed his position on abortion .
  2. Romney changed his position on gay marriage .

Reasons to disagree
  1. It is not bad to change your position , or change it back. Being called a flip-floper emplies that a politician is lying. There is no evidence that Mitt Romney lies. In fact there is a lot of evidence that he tells the truth, and keeps his commitments.
  2. You have to say what positions he has changed, in order to make that assertion. So see my responses (above) to the only two examples I have ever seen, as examples of his flip-floppery.
  3. Governor Mitt Romney does not like flip-flopperyness, and has spoken against it.
  4. A flip is changing your position. A flip-flop is changing your position, and changing it back. The only example I have ever heard of a Romney's flip-floping was his so-called change on Abortion. So changing your position once, would make Romney a fliper, not a flip-flopper.

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Please don't tell me Romney did not flip flop on Abortion, I'm trying something different with having reasons to agree and disagree with each idea... you will people say that Romney has flip flopped, if you click on that idea on this post, you can see reasons to agree and disagree...

Tell me if this is stupid or not... I like keeping it in outline form, so we can always update it, as we continually examin the issue...




posted by Justin Hart | 2:35 PM | permalink
Hugh Hewitt had a great interview with Mark Steyn last night in which he said:

Well, there's Newt Gingrich, who everybody says, and I think they're right, has been making terrific speeches on terror. He gave a terrific appearance in New Hampshire, in which he called, he said that those six imams in Minneapolis causing the trouble on the plane should actually have been arrested. He's absolutely terrific, but he carries way too much personal baggage. And all four of these candidates, I think, are defective in some ways. Mitt Romney I like, but in many ways, because I think his kind of Mormonism is the least problematic baggage of the major candidates.


Not a ringing endorsement but absolutely true at this point in time.

Of course, McCain can just keep the love coming as he steps in it again and again. Take this quote for example: "I think the fence is least effective. But I'll build the goddamned fence if they want it."

Just keep it coming Senator!

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The other line I missed reading this article yesterday was the line stating that Colorado Governor Bill Owens Endorsed Romney.

Outgoing Colorado Governor Bill Owens then appeared and bluntly announced that he is for Romney, the sort of early declaration I hadn't expected. A transcript of that will be up later.




posted by Justin Hart | 1:52 PM | permalink

We have a problem in America...

Republicans only talk to republicans and Democrats only talk to Democrats. We don't want Romney Supporters to only talk to Romney supporters.

Go to this site:

http://blogsearch.google.com/

Type "Mitt Romney" and correct one lie about Romney a day. Tell me what you find. You will find some good stuff, and some stupid stuff. I want to hear about it all.

~ Mike

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posted by Justin Hart | 9:21 AM | permalink
In 2004 hundreds of Mormons crowded into the Provo Tabernacle and listened intently as a speaker (who was not a Mormon) declared: "We have sinned against you."

Was this Bryant Gumbel apologizing for his remarks belittling the BYU Cougar’s 1984 NCAAF title? Was it Jim McMahon asking humble forgiveness for consistently sitting on the Wyoming stands for BYU homecoming games?


Richard Mouw, creating dialogue with the Mormons
No, it was noted evangelical scholar Richard J. Mouw, President of the Fuller Theological Seminary. Here is the context of his remarks:

Over the past half-dozen years I have been a member of a small group of evangelical scholars who have been engaged in lengthy closed-door discussions about spiritual and theological matters with a small group of our LDS counterparts. We have not been afraid to argue strenuously with each other, but our arguments have been conducted in a sincere desire genuinely to understand each other-and in the process we have formed some deep bonds of friendship. I know that I have learned much in this continuing dialogue, and I am now convinced that we evangelicals have often seriously misrepresented the beliefs and practices of the Mormon community. Indeed, let me state it bluntly to the LDS folks here this evening: we have sinned against you.

Beyond the rush of news articles handicapping Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's presidential aspirations is an unnoticed but significant thaw in the troubled relations between Evangelicals and Mormons.


The Big Freeze

Of course, before the thaw there was the freeze. In truth, the two religious movements share similar roots in the early 19th century revival period. However, while the predecessors of American evangelical thought like Ralph Waldo Emerson were calling for the return of ancient prophets in 1836, the Mormons were being forced out of Missouri and Illinois and anointing their own prophets. The motives behind the Mormon ouster were generally competitive (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints grew to 100,000 members in less than 15 years) and economic (Nauvoo, Illinois had a population rivaling Chicago in 1844).

The Mormon persecutions which forcible drove the Latter-day Saints from New York to Ohio to Missouri to Illinois to Utah have lasting impact today but only within the Mormon Church, and not for the reasons you think. Today, most Mormons are first generation converts. Mormons revere and honor the trials our forbearers encountered; those that were forced upon them (i.e. Hauns Mill Massacre) but also those they chose to endure (e.g. handcarts to the Wasatch front).

While this first religions rift ended in physical separation the second rift started with theological banishment from Christendom. In the 20th century Evangelical Protestants found a huge numbers rallying to the endearing message of pastors on the lecture circuit. Meanwhile, Mormons left their Wasatch haven to vie for converts and make an impact on the world. By 1950 the Mormon Church had over a million adherents. Anti-Mormon literature was sparse but rising.

By 1981, Mormons numbered 5 million with 2 million world-wide adherents. Together with the growth of non-traditional religious groups (Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Scientists) a good body of literature grew up around "cults" and how to avoid their "traps." While the impetus for the anti-Mormon/anti-cult movement was competitive, the attacks were doctrinal in nature. In short, Mormon doctrine didn’t jive with traditional evangelical interpretation of the Bible. While some of these were genuine disagreements (the nature of God) other debates wallowed in accusations.

For example, Evangelicals have long accused Mormons of placing too much emphasis on their own works for salvation ("For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith" – Ephesians 2). In turn, Mormons have accused Evangelicals of simple aural salvation ignoring the works that would be evident in the believer ("What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?" – James 2).

Evangelicals relied on early works to dispute Mormon teachings and rally others against Latter-day Saint missionary efforts. Meanwhile, Mormons were spreading their scholarly wings beyond Brigham Young University, building a large body of literature defending their beliefs, and earning qualified recognition in religious academia. And this is where our story begins.


A Dialogue Begins

In 1996 a very unlikely pair of scholars attempted an unprecedented feat: a book on Evangelical and Mormon beliefs. The "unprecedented" and "unlikely" part is this: one scholar is Evangelical, the other Mormon.

In one corner: Craig Blomberg (Ph.D., Aberdeen), professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary and the author of The Historical Reliability of the Gospels and Interpreting the Parables. In the other corner: Stephen Robinson (Ph.D., Duke), professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University and the author of "Are Mormons Christians?" and "Believing Christ". Under the traditional rules of engagement, the gloves would come off and the rhetoric would fly long and hard.


Astoundingly, and to the chagrin of many a rhetorical boxer, the book was a courageous attempt at "listening" to the other side, and explaining one's own beliefs. In their book: How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation, Blomberg and Robinson tackle six general topics: the Scriptures, God and Deification, Christ and the Trinity, and Salvation. Each author took up his pen for half of each chapter, discussing their respective religion's viewpoint, responding to perceived "misconceptions" that the other side has, and co-authoring a conclusion to each topic.

The book dispelled common "caricatures" about each movement that have grown increasingly un-Christian over the past decade. Most importantly, the book became the first major dialogue between a recognized Evangelical scholar and his Mormon counterpart.

As Robinson points out in his introduction: "Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals do not understand each other very well, and much of what we say about each other is untrue." He notes that previous dialogue "has been dominated by those on both sides having the least training or the worst motives."

Referring to the popular board game Trivial Pursuit, Blomberg finds these past misunderstandings and misinterpretations understandable:

If an immensely successful game company cannot distinguish between nineteenth- and twentieth-century Mormonism [referring to a card in the game indicating that Mormons still practice polygamy], and if many in the popular press cannot distinguish between Jim Baker and Billy Graham, is it any wonder that grassroots Evangelicals and Mormons in churches around our country seem similarly confused? [pg23]

To return to our original point of doctrinal contention, Evangelicals see Mormons placing too much weight on the works we must perform to be saved, while Mormons see Evangelicals elevating grace to where no works are necessary. In reality, the two see nearly eye-to-eye on the issue, but couch their language in differing terms. As Robinson notes:

Unless Mormons and Evangelicals make greater efforts to investigate what the other means… we shall remain, to paraphrase Twain, two peoples divided by a common language. [pg 14]

Soon after its publication, a prominent head of an evangelical organization declared the book to be "an abomination". Evangelical bookstores started boycott efforts against the publisher. Still others wondered aloud: "Are we to be seeking this kind of dialogue?" Deseret Book, the Mormon Church-owned publishing powerhouse, pulled its backing from the project which was originally intended to be a joint publication with InterVarsity Press. Clearly, this was new ground for all the parties involved. The boat was definitely rocking.


Losing the Battle?

A year later in 1997, two evangelical scholars published an article in a scholarly journal entitled: "Mormon Scholarship, Apologetics, and Evangelical Neglect: Losing the Battle and Not Knowing It?". In it they examined anti-Mormon literature and Mormon apologetics. What did they find? Well, in their own words:

Mormonism, has, in recent years, produced a substantial body of literature defending their beliefs... In this battle the Mormons are fighting valiantly. And the evangelicals? It appears that we may be losing the battle and not knowing it.

Their purpose in publishing the article was hardly to concede the battle. Indeed, their efforts were "to serve to awaken members of the evangelical community to the important task at hand."

With this article, these two scholars, Carl Mosser and Paul Owen, walked away from traditional anti-Mormon approaches working from ignorance. Instead, the authors actually visited Mormon scholars at BYU and elsewhere. They read the major works on both sides of the debate and presented their findings openly and honestly. Their approach was seen by many in the LDS community as a fresh step in right direction.

Owen and Mosser start their article by demolishing several myths that have been persistent among Evangelicals regarding the Mormon Church:

  1. "There are, contrary to popular evangelical perceptions, legitimate Mormon scholars."

  2. "Mormon scholars and apologists… have, with varying degrees of success, answered most of the usual evangelical criticisms."

  3. "There are no books from an evangelical perspective that responsibly interact with contemporary LDS scholarly and apologetic writings"

  4. "The sophistication and erudition of LDS apologetics has risen considerably while evangelical responses have not… We are losing the battle and do not know it."

  5. "Most involved in the counter-cult movement lack the skills and training necessary to answer Mormon scholarly apologetic"

From the Mormon perspective these were unprecedented and stunning admissions. Many members can speak to the frustrations involved in defending the church from debunked century-old attacks. Anti-cult literature will frequently insert whole sections from 19th Century anti-Mormon tracts and call it a day. Still others will dabble in psycho-analytics around Joseph Smith and early church members. Up until Owen and Mosser, there were very few critiques that had addressed Mormon scholarship and apologetics at all.


The New Mormon Challenge

Fast forward to 2002, Messrs. Owens, Mosser together with noted conservative author Francis J. Beckwith publish a lengthy volume, The New Mormon Challenge to address the growing Mormon movement.

It was within the first paragraphs of the forward that Richard J. Mouw first made the admission we began with saying that he is "ashamed of our record in relating to the Mormon community." He continues: "[By propagating] distorted accounts of what Mormons believe… and bearing false witness against our LDS neighbors, we evangelicals have often sinned not just against Mormons but against the God who calls us to be truth tellers." Needless to say, he had my ear, more importantly my respect. As Mormon apologist Dan Peterson noted, the tone is "light years" from the usual garb.

As the forward states: the tone of the essays: "is a laudable attempt to set the record straight." The editors, we are told, "have approached this project with the intention of talking to Latter-day Saints, not at them" (399, emphasis theirs). The authors recognize the past polemical mantra that has dominated the interfaith discussions to date:

[We] are not interested in doctrinal dispute for the sake of dispute. We are not interested in attacking and tearing down the beliefs of others like some sort of bellicose theological terrorists.

However, beyond the courtesy and rapport of the authors are serious disagreements with Mormon theology. "Mormonism’s challenges are real and can be dismissed only at a cost evangelicals are unwilling to pay" says Carl Mosser.

From this viewpoint, Mosser has taken an unprecedented step in his critique. He suggests that fellow critics should abandon century-old doctrinal odds and ends and focus on contemporary Mormonism. This would be a welcome change as many anti-Mormon books are lathered in quotes from second-hand hearsay and steeped in urban legends that they refuse to correct. Addressing Mormonism as it exists today and accepting that what we say we believe, we actually do believe, are exciting prospects to say the least. As Mosser states:

It is only common sense that our critiques of Mormon thought ought to be critiques of what Mormons are actually thinking. After all, are not actually held beliefs the ones that will hinder or facilitate true knowledge of God? Besides, when we insist that Mormons ‘really believe’ the traditional synthesis when many do not, our credibility is called into question.

Let me pose a quick analogy to sum this up:

In my high school drama program we had two types of celebrations after a big production. One was a boys vs.girls all out war with shaving cream, water balloons and general mayhem. The other was dubbed "the gentleman's war". In essence, you chose an opponent, put on your best Sunday suit, placed an old rug underneath your feet and calmly took turns pouring produce, pies, and pastries over each other. An egg in the shirt pocket, a cream-pie down the pants, Ragu Spaghetti Sauce and molasses on the head – and you took it like a man.

The advantage of the gentleman's war over an all out mêlée was twofold. First, you had a deeper respect for your opponent which encouraged you to bestow only the finest weapons. Secondly, you had less of a chance of losing your two front teeth, which is what happened to someone my senior year and promptly ended the fighting tradition for good.

The newfound dialogue between Mormons and Evangelicals has left the mêlée in favor of the gentleman's war. While it can get messy and sticky at times, the general tenor of the battle is wholly improved and marks a significant thaw in their relations.

Of course this is at the academic level. But the breach in the wall is large enough where a dialogue can begin in the grassroots. Is there discomfort among Evangelicals about Mormons? Yes. Is it insurmountable? No. After all, as someone noted, if common religious bonds were the only yardstick, conservative evangelicals would have to choose Jimmy Carter over Ronald Reagan. Mitt Romney's religion and faith should not be a stumbling block for evangelicals looking for leadership in this country. In short, let the dialogue begin.

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Good Article.
I blog around some very liberal sites to get a feel for the cases against Mitt Romney but I have to say when you have a record like Mitt's, it tough to find dirt.

They will eventually try to attack his religion.

Articles like this one show though Mitt could run with the good name of the church, he won't. The church speaks for itself and Mitt's record of fiscal responsibility tied in with his guts to do the right thing will take him the distance.



Excellent blog, Jason. Thank you for posting it. As a Mormon, it does get tiring to hear the same lies told over and over again. I appreciate you taking the time to write this. :)

Havs



Here is a notable article by democrat Orson Scott Card, entitled, "Hey, Who are you calling a cult?":
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/49/story_4906_1.html

Hey, Who Are You Calling a Cult?
The LDS Church is less of a cult than many of the religions that accuse it of being one.

He wrote to me in all innocence, a reader from a Catholic country where Mormon missionaries had only recently begun to gather congregations of believers.

"I asked my priest," he said, "and he told me that Mormons are a cult."

Setting aside the obvious riposte ("What did you think your priest would tell you, that Mormonism was true Christianity as restored by God to living prophets?"), I think it's worth considering just what we mean by "cult" and seeing whether it applies to the Mormon Church.

Cult as Bad Word

Anti-Mormons use "cult" the way gay activists use "homophobe"--as an ad hominem epithet hurled to try to silence any persuasive opponent whose ideas can't be countered on their merits.

When used this way, "cult" just means "religion I want you to fear so much you won't listen to them." Or even, "religion I want you to hate so much that you will remove it from the list of churches that deserve constitutional protection."

But just as "homophobe" has a core meaning (someone with a pathological fear of homosexuality to the degree that it interferes with his life), so also with "cult." The only reason it works as name-calling is because there really are religious groups that do--and should--scare us.

There are real examples of what we mean by cults: Jim Jones' group that destroyed itself in mass murder and suicide in Guyana, or those sneaker-wearing folks who killed themselves to join aliens approaching behind a comet. And even though the Branch Davidians may not have been as monstrous as they were depicted in the media, they still clearly fall within what we mean by that word.

What do they have in common?

Charismatic Founder. Cults gather around charismatic individuals who are the sole source of truth to their followers.

Exploitation. The leader enriches himself through the financial contributions of the members, or gathers personal power that he uses to exploit members in other ways to benefit himself. If the group survives the leader's death, it remains a cult if his successors continue that exploitation.

Automatons. The members are discouraged from thinking for themselves, and, insofar as possible, are turned into unquestioning "obedience machines."

Withdrawal and Isolation. Perhaps because exploitation and obedience are easiest to maintain when the ordinary world can't offer its distractions and attractions, cults tend to withdraw physically, seeking ever greater isolation. This is often used as part of the conversion process, to keep the prospective member from hearing counterarguments.
Are All Religions Cults?

It's worth pointing out that there are very few religions of any size or influence that did not begin with a charismatic founder and whose members did not seem, to outsiders, to behave in much the way I've just described. A humble, wise teacher can always be charged with "setting himself up as the sole source of truth" merely because he offers any unusual idea.

The gathering of money to help the poor or pay for meetinghouses or publications can be called "exploitation." The natural desire of converts to live according to the teachings of their leader can look like lockstep blind obedience to those who live a different way. And if outsiders persecute the new religion, it is only natural that adherents will want to band together and get away, if only for a few hours at a time, to be able to practice their religion in peace.

All religions have a body of teachings that becomes a lens through which the believers see the world around them. To those who don't believe, the lens seems to be a distortion of reality--though of course, those unbelievers are merely distorting reality their own way, through their own lens. No one sees reality without passing the data through the lens of their own preconceptions.

All religions also form a community, however loosely organized, of like-minded believers who set the standard of correctness. Whether that standard is rigid or relaxed, those who cross it are expelled from the community and are treated as heretics, apostates, or infidels. Severe treatment of heretics can be found from the lowliest cult to the largest church, from the most rigid sect to "open"-minded, post-religious academia.

You have to get fairly close to a new religion in order to see whether it is acting like a cult or like a religion. Most of those who hurl the word "cult," however, do not bother to get close. And those who do are often so grimly determined to attack that they distort all evidence in order to support the charge.

How Does Mormonism Measure Up?

Joseph Smith was a charismatic leader, but he was murdered 156 years ago. Nowadays, we have leaders who, while sometimes gifted at communication, are rarely of the dramatic, movement-founding type. Indeed, I feel safe in saying that the majority in my lifetime have been rather dull and gray, and they are followed far more because of their office than because of any personal charisma.

Exploitation? As for exploitative leadership, this charge is absolutely false and always has been. Joseph Smith passed the money test with flying colors: He died poor and in debt, not because of profligate spending, but because any money that flowed into his hands flowed right back out again in attempts to benefit the saints and build the church.

In the years since, a handful of church offices have become salaried, but the salaries are merely enough to sustain normal family life. The perks of wealth are shunned even by those church leaders who were rich before being called to one of those rare salaried offices. And church leaders constantly struggle to eliminate the sycophancy, the cult of personality, and the general "sucking up" that are bound to arise in any hierarchical organization.
By any honest measure, Mormon church leaders, from Joseph Smith on, have a remarkable record of genuine humility. They really do try to be the servants rather than the masters of the saints.

Automatons? Those who have actually lived in a Mormon ward--and especially those who have tried to lead a group of Mormons in any kind of activity--can all affirm one truth: Mormons may well be the most stubborn, independent-minded group of people ever assembled as a religious community.

Joseph Smith received a revelation that established the only style of leadership that actually works in the Mormon church (or, in the long run, anywhere): You can only lead by persuasion, by love, by patience, by your own willingness to learn from those you lead. Every now and then, some local Mormon leader will try to give orders or attempt to manipulate people into doing things his way. But he very quickly learns that the more he does that, the less obedient we Mormons become.

Far from being robots, most of us Mormons are, by inclination and by doctrine, determined to make up our own minds about everything. It's a core doctrine of Mormonism that each member of the church is personally and individually responsible for their own relationship with God.

Isolation? As for the cultish trait of isolating converts from any other influence, or brainwashing them till they can't think for themselves, our method of teaching would-be proselytes is the opposite. We usually teach them in their own homes. Our missionaries come for a little while and then leave them to themselves to read, ponder, and pray. We counter the attacks of anti-Mormons by telling the truth about our beliefs and practices, not by trying to cut off contact with our opponents.

Far from becoming isolated, a new convert to Mormonism is taught to be more respectful and loving to parents, spouse, children, and other family members and friends. They usually do better at their careers and education, and if withdrawal takes place it is because their new Mormon lifestyle and beliefs are rejected by their family or friends.

Kettles and Pots

On all these points, I daresay that the Mormon church is less cult-like than many of the religions that delight in calling us one.

Indeed, calling Mormonism a cult is usually an attempt to get people to behave like robots, blindly obeying the command that they reject Mormonism without any independent thought. Kettles, as they say, calling the pot black.

Here's the simplest statement I can make: If Mormonism were a cult, I would know it, and I would not be in it.




posted by Justin Hart | 9:18 AM | permalink

Guardsmen overrun at the Border

A U.S. Border Patrol entry Identification Team site was overrun Wednesday night along Arizona's border with Mexico.

According to the Border Patrol, an unknown number of gunmen attacked the site in the state's West Desert Region around 11 p.m. The site is manned by National Guardsmen. Those guardsmen were forced to retreat.

Click here for the rest of the story.

This story took place in Arizona. What does McCain think about Immigration? Well in 2004 he said; "Those who live closest are the ones who can get here. Everyone in the world should have the opportunity through an orderly process to come to this country."

What does Romney think?

"Immigration has been an important part of our nation's success. The current system, however, puts up a concrete wall to the best and brightest, yet those without skill or education are able to walk across the border. We must reform the current immigration laws so we can secure our borders, implement a mandatory biometrically enabled, tamper proof documentation and employment verification system, and increase legal immigration into America."

* "We need to make America more attractive for legal immigrants for citizens and less attractive for illegal immigrants. I want to see more immigration in our country, but more legal immigration and less illegal immigration."
** Governor Romney, AP, June 23, 2006)

For the rest for the rest of the story, click here:

http://myclob.pbwiki.com/Immigration

~ Myclob

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posted by Myclob | 9:16 AM | permalink
A U.S. Border Patrol entry Identification Team site was overrun Wednesday night along Arizona's border with Mexico.

According to the Border Patrol, an unknown number of gunmen attacked the site in the state's West Desert Region around 11 p.m. The site is manned by National Guardsmen. Those guardsmen were forced to retreat.


Click here for the rest of the story.

This story took place in Arizona. What does McCain think about Immigration? Well in 2004 he said; "Those who live closest are the ones who can get here. Everyone in the world should have the opportunity through an orderly process to come to this country."

What does Romney think?

"Immigration has been an important part of our nation's success. The current system, however, puts up a concrete wall to the best and brightest, yet those without skill or education are able to walk across the border. We must reform the current immigration laws so we can secure our borders, implement a mandatory biometrically enabled, tamper proof documentation and employment verification system, and increase legal immigration into America."

* "We need to make America more attractive for legal immigrants for citizens and less attractive for illegal immigrants. I want to see more immigration in our country, but more legal immigration and less illegal immigration."
** Governor Romney, AP, June 23, 2006)

For the rest for the rest of the story, click here:

http://myclob.pbwiki.com/Immigration

~ Myclob

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Thursday, January 4, 2007
posted by Myclob | 11:37 PM | permalink
Stop by here to check out a great post about Boise State and Mitt Romney...

Idaho-for-Romney says:

"Like BSU, Romney is the underdog that skeptics doubt will make it. However, I believe America will see Romney’s smarts, determination, and big heart and will give him the undefeated record he is looking for. He won’t need any hook & latter tricks to help him out. No, his experience and impeccable leadership skills are good enough."



"Boise State's win came as a major suprise to many college football fans, but the Broncos have been dominant for years"

Mitt Romney's rise to the top of the GOP pack has surprised many, but he has been awsome for many years.

Romney recieved his English degree valedictorian, earning his B.A. summa cum laude in 1971. In 1975, Romney simultaneously earned an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was named a Baker Scholar, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He graduated cum laude from law school and in the top 5 percent of his business school class.

From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a vice president of Bain & Company, Inc., a Boston-based management consulting firm. In 1984, Romney left the company to co-found Bain Capital, which quickly became a highly successful private equity investment firm.

In 1990 Romney was asked to return to Bain & Company, which was facing financial collapse. As CEO, Romney managed an effort to restructure the firm's employee stock-ownership plan, real-estate deals and bank loans, while increasing fiscal transparency. Within a year, he had led Bain & Company through a highly successful turnaround and returned the firm to profitability without layoffs or partner defections.

Following his year at Bain & Company, Romney returned to Bain Capital. During the 14 years he headed the company, Bain Capital's average annual internal rate of return on realized investments was 113 percent. During Romney's tenure, the firm founded, acquired or invested in hundreds of companies including Staples Inc., Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Brookstone, Domino's, Sealy Corporation and The Sports Authority. Romney left Bain Capital in 1998 to head the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games Organizing Committee.

Romney served as president and CEO of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games held in Salt Lake City. In 1999 the event was running $379 million short of its revenue benchmarks. Plans were being made to scale back the games in order to compensate for the fiscal crisis. The Games were also damaged by allegations of bribery involving top officials, including then Salt Lake Olympic Committee (SLOC) President and CEO Frank Joklik. Joklik and SLOC vice president Dave Johnson were forced to resign.

On February 11, 1999 Romney was hired as the new president and CEO of the Salt Lake City Games. Romney revamped the organization's leadership and policies, reduced budgets and boosted fundraising. He also worked to ensure the safety of the Games following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 by coordinating a $300 million security budget. Despite the initial fiscal shortfall, the Games ended up clearing a profit of $100 million. Following the conclusion of the Games, President George Bush praised Romney's management.

Romney contributed $1 million to the Olympics, and donated the $825,000 salary he earned as President and CEO to charity.[14] He wrote a book about his experience called Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership and the Olympic Games. (ISBN:0895260840)

Click here for the rest.




Some question weather BSU belonged in a Bowl Game, because of what conference it played in.

Some question if Mitt Romney should be allowed to run for president because of what church he prays in.

I might be a little biased, I am from the BSU class of 2003, but that was the best game of all time.



Ian Johnson's marriage proposal to his cheerleader girlfriend was just one of the night's highlights for the sophomore.



Romney did not propose on national TV or marry his college sweetheart, but he did marry his high school sweet heart...

Maybe that is all of the similarities... What do you think? Is BSU over Oklahoma the upset story of 2007? Will Romney over Hillary be the upset story of 2008?

~ Mike
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posted by jason | 8:18 PM | permalink
Shortly after ending his term as governor, Mitt Romney rolled out his finance Team Co-Chairs Roster and opened his Headquarters.

Hotline notices a few important names on his Roster:


But one new name stands out: Ted Welch, the Tennessee investment banker who masterminded Sen. Lamar Alexander's (R-TN) $20 million haul in 1996 and who, since he the RNC's finance chair in 1977, has been one of the party's most proficient and generous fundraisers.

Welch was courted by a bevy of Republican presidential candidates after ex-Maj. Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) decided not to run. He reportedly was upset that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) backed Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) for the post of minority whip instead of Alexander.

Another major figure in Republican party finance circles is Mel Sembler, a former ambassador to Italy. Sembler is also a former RNC finance chair and was for six year the RNC's national committee man from Florida, meaning that he's on a first-name basis with virtually every single major Republican donor in the money-rich state.

Also on the list: Mark Guzzetta, a Florida developer who is close to the Bush family, and to ex-FL Gov. Jeb Bush, in particular, and Tom Tellefsen, a Bush Pioneer who is president of Tellefsen investments in CA.



The full list of his cochairs (link):

Christopher Collins, Managing Member of First Atlantic Capital, LLC, Massachusetts
Mark Guzzetta, President of Gemstone Development, Florida
Jon Huntsman Sr., Chairman of the Huntsman Corporation, Utah
John Miller, Founding Member of National Beef Packing Company, LLC, Kansas City, Missouri
John Rakolta, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Walbridge Aldinger, Michigan
Ambassador Mel Sembler, Chairman of the Board of The Sembler Company and former ambassador to Italy, Australia, and Nauru, Florida
Tom Tellefsen, President of Tellefsen Investments, California
Ted Welch, Owner of Ted Welch Investments, Tennessee
Meg Whitman, President and CEO of eBay, California
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posted by jason | 2:58 PM | permalink
From CBN News:


Mitt Romney, who is going to be running for president announced today that he WILL NOT raise taxes if he becomes president. I just received this release from his Exploratory Office:


Demonstrating his commitment to oppose any effort to increase taxes on the American people, Governor Romney has signed Americans For Tax Reform's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge." As part of his pledge, Governor Romney will "oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates" and "oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits."

Governor Romney believes that by keeping taxes low and simplifying the tax code, we can grow the economy and enhance American competitiveness. These fundamental economic beliefs and principles led Governor Romney to become the first potential 2008 pres,idential candidate to sign Americans for Tax Reform's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge."


It's a smart move by Romney. 2008 will be all about controlling one's image. He needs to show to people that he's a Reagan conservative. There's a void out there in the Republican field when it comes to a Reagan type so these type of moves help.


Romney kept taxes at bay as seen in this article by the globe:


On taxes, Romney failed in his efforts to roll back the state’s income tax rate to 5 percent, the level voters called for in a 2000 referendum.

But he won a significant victory in 2005 when he persuaded the Legislature not to impose a retroactive capital gains tax increase on investors.

That, according to Barbara Anderson, a leading antitax activist in Massachusetts, is indicative of one important value of Romney: what he prevented from happening just by being in office.

"People ... know what Romney did," she said. "They don’t have any way of knowing what he prevented from happening."


The theme?

Romney has shown while governing in a all but socialist state that he had the chutzpah to keep the tax raisers at bay. All this while solving the states financial problems. He also will prove to be the toughest fiscal conservative who has the knowledge and intellect to make conservative philosophy work.
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posted by Myclob | 8:09 AM | permalink
For those who are just starting your observation of Mitt Romney, I would like to introduce you to one of the stupid accusations that you will hear (until 2008, when eventually you will want to bash your brains out).

John R. Bohrer of the Huffington Post is the latest zombie who repeats the following: “Romney is more readily identified with the Salt Lake City Olympics and making the state that elected him the butt of his jokes.”

But no one ever gives you an example of the Jokes that Romney tells about Massachusetts, because there are none. Romney says that there are a lot of liberals there, but that is not a joke. It is an observation. And unlike observations from liberals, it is the truth. There are a lot of liberals in Massachusetts. Why does pointing this out hurt the poor feelings of the poor liberals of poor Massachusetts? Were they trying to keep their presence there a secret? Are they behind in child support payments, and think this information will help former wives or girls friends track them down? “Tanner was a liberal, maybe I should look for him in Massachusetts!”

Are we supposed to feel sorry for them? Is Romney a bully, and he would beat up Massachusetts students for their lunch money, and laugh at them, saying that they were liberals, who will probably live in Massachusetts the rest of their lives, because they are stupid Massachusetts liberals? Did he make people cry, when he points out that there are a lot of liberals in Massachusetts? Did he hurt their feelings?

What joy can John R. Bohrer have of repeating this stupid observation. Why do people have the desire to repeat over and over what the main stream media tells them? Is this all they got on Mitt Romney? Romney pointed out that a lot of liberals live in Massachusetts?

Then John R. Bohrer makes the fatal mistake of many liberal blogers when they try to debate. They don’t. He asserted that Mitt Romney was a flip flopper with out giving any examples of times that he has flipped or flopped.

John R. Bohrer said; “And that's because Mitt Romney views his identity just like every policy position he's ever taken: temporary.”

Here is some background. Romney advocated states rights when it comes to abortion, and he declared a truce on the issue in Massachusetts. He said he would not change the laws. Now that he is running for president of the United States, he is asserting the same thing: each state should have the right to choose their abortion laws. So he has kind of changed his position from advocating that Massachusetts be able to remain pro-choice, to Massachusetts should remain pro-choice and other states should also get to choose their abortion policy, as he seeks to represent those from more states than Massachusetts. If you want to call that a flip, sure, go ahead. But I get to call you an idiot, if you try and call Mitt Romney a flip flopper, because a “flip flop” implies that he changed his position, and then changed it back again. And Abortion is the only issue that you could try and say his vies have changed. But even this is stupid. Is John R. Bohrer saying that we should never vote for someone whose views have changed? Did he really write a senior paper on JFK, Martin Luther King, and Cesar Chavez? Does he want to see examples were they advocated different things in DIFFERENT situations?

And, John R. Bohrer, I also get to also call you an idiot if you say that all of Romney’s positions have been “temporary” because of this one change.

I also get to call you a jerk for contributing to the stupidity of public discourse. You make an assertion (every position Romney has ever held has been temporary) without giving one example of times Romney has changed his position. No reasons to agree with you, just your attitude of self rightous disdain.

David asserts that he is able to read Mitt Romney’s mind twice. This is something else that will become infuriating over the next couple of years.

David says:

“Mitt Romney must be feeling pretty good right about now” and “Mitt Romney views his identity just like every policy position he's ever taken: temporary”.

David wrote his senior thesis on “Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez in 1968”. Was Robert also able to channel the personal feelings of these Cesar Chavez? People wonder what Cesar Chavez would have thought of the protest by illegal immigrants over the 2006 United States Congress immigration bill. Perhaps David can tell us what Chavez thinks, sense he is able to tell us with such clarity what Mitt Romney is thinking.

Mitt Romney said, "Being a conservative Republican in Massachusetts is a bit like being a cattle rancher at a vegetarian convention."

Does this the truth hurt the feelings of liberals? Romney is saying the truth. Massachusetts is the most liberal state in the union. Is this fact off limits for Romney to point out? Should Romney not be allowed to have a sense of humor? How dare he laugh at the fact that he is a Republican Governor of the most liberal state, or must he assume a somber attitude, and never dare make fun of the fact that Republicans are a minority is Massachusetts? That Romney is able to laugh is admirable. If I had to live with these self righteous little pukes, I would be crying all the time.

Romney is not making fun of every citizen in Massachusetts. He is pointing out the fact that there happen to be a lot of liberals in that state. Is this wrong? Did he say everyone is Massachusetts is dumb? Did he say they are ugly? Did he make fun of them? No. He did not criticize them, he just said there are a lot of liberals. Is he wrong?

Mitt Romney makes fun of Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, and Michael S. Kukakis, and the main stream media tell the citizens of Massachusetts that Romney is making fun of them.

Lyndon Johnson separated himself from racist elements in Texas, and Ronald Reagan did the same with the hippie fringe in California. Grover Cleveland, who in 1884 used the slogan "Grover the Good" to separate himself from the political corruption in his home state of New York". Every president has had to separate themselves for the benefit of stupid people who think that every single person of a state, religion, or race is exactly the same.

Romney has said:

"There's no question I do love jokes. Indicating that there are very few conservative Republicans in Massachusetts, I do not think is a surprise to anyone inside or outside of Massachusetts and is in no way an indictment of the state. If anything, it's a recognition that I have to do a better job of recruiting Republicans." Governor Mitt Romney, Mighty Mitt Romney, By Shawn Macomber, The American Spectator, 04-21-2006

So, to be clear, did Romney -- who came here in 1975 to seek degrees from both Harvard Business and Law schools -- pursue the governorship out of some Machiavellian plan to attain higher office, or does he love the state he leads?

"We've lived here now 34 years, raised all five of our sons here, and paid a mountain of taxes here. You don't do that unless you enjoy the state and the economic, social, and cultural opportunities which it provides." Governor Mitt Romney, Mighty Mitt Romney, By Shawn Macomber, The American Spectator, 04-21-2006

~ Mike

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Wednesday, January 3, 2007
posted by jason | 6:32 PM | permalink
Romney's exploratory committee has put up it's new website www.mittromney.com.

Romney has said the internet is a key to his victory, that is reflected in this site. It has a lot of great video feeds under the title "MittTV" along with some great quotes.

There is also the invitation to join "Team Mitt."
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I AM SO DISAPPOINTED THAT ROMNEY DROPPED OUT OF THE RACE. HE IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE THAT I COULD VOTE FOR.

STARTING A SAVINGS ACCOUNT FOR A FUTURE CONTRIBUTION IN CASE HE DECIDES TO RUN NEXT TIME AROUND.

gembury, Oregon



www.MittRomney.com

This link does not work. Can someone check on that?

Thx!




posted by jason | 12:39 PM | permalink



Well he's done it. Romney filed papers for his presidential exploratory committee. This is no major shock, but it is a major plus for our nation.
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posted by Justin Hart | 7:43 AM | permalink
What a day to launch a website!

Why you ask? Because today, Mitt Romney, governor of Massachusetts, has filed paperwork for his exploratory presidential committee.

What does this have to do you with us you ask? Nothing, except for this fact:

We plan to do everything in our power to see that Mitt Romney does indeed become the next President of the United States.

Who are we you ask? (My, you do ask a lot of questions...) We are a group of ragtag bloggers supporting Mitt's bid for the Republican nomination and for the Presidency itself.

Isn't the election a ways off you ask? Yes, but you wouldn't know if by the press accounts on Romney. Take a look at our live news feeds. You would think Romney was the President by the amount of news he prompts. Whether it's a strange objection with his faith, hisstance against Gay marriage, or his impressive records as governor, Romney seems to invoke a lot of press - and the election is still two years away!




So, in short, we are launching today because of the incredible interest in Mitt Romney's potential candidacy.

So what can I do here? We'll be releasing new features as we go but for now you can sign up to receive a daily summary of our alerts, put us on your RSS reader, put our "patch" on your website, visit our sister sites MittSpaces and MittBase where you can see a comprehensive Mitt Wiki and upload photos and videos.

We'll have many more features that the campaign moves on. For now, we throw our hat in the ring to support Mitt Romney for President!

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Great first post Justin. This should be awesome!




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