Monthly Archives: September 2011

While activists sip tea, Romney fends off the latest flavors

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Doug Gibson

Herman Cain is the new Tea Party fave of the month, mainly because he got 900 votes in a Florida straw poll and fessed up that he survived a bout with cancer a few years ago. Before that the flavor … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged 2012 Republican presidential race, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Tea Party movement | 8 Comments

Morrisite War was a bloody little event in 1860s Top of Utah

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Doug Gibson

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here) In the small northern community of South Weber, Utah, a monument was erected to the Morrisite War, a small but deadly 1862 battle between a group of Mormon … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Brigham Young, Joseph Morris, Josiah Francis Gibbs, Lights and Shadows of Mormonism, Morrisite War, South Weber, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Utah | 17 Comments

Elizabeth Warren is what many on the left want Obama to be

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Doug Gibson

I’m struck by this quote from Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, uttered recently at a campaign event. You can watch it here. At one point, Warren says, “There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged 2012 elections, Democratic base, Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Senate race, Republican base, Scott Brown | 15 Comments

Obama is dishonest and demagogic in tax debate

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Doug Gibson

If President Barack Obama wanted to be honest about the current debate over taxes, he wouldn’t repeat the lie that middle-class Americans pay more in taxes than the wealthy. The Associated Press has debunked that claim, which is being used … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Buffett Rule, Capital gains tax, Class envy, Income taxes, President Barack Obama | 28 Comments

Novel on Wells, Cannon scandal highlights how evil polygamy was

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Doug Gibson

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here) A while back I wrote about the scandal between the Wells and Cannon families in 1880s Salt Lake City (Read). Louie Wells, a beautiful, talented daughter of a … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged 19th century Salt Lake City, A Scandal in Zion: The TRagic Story of Louie Wells and John Q. Cannon, Adultery, Angus Cannon, Emmaline Wells, Frank J. Cannon, George Q. Cannon, John Q. Cannon, Louisa "Louie" Martha Wells, Lynne Larson, Mormon history, Polygamy | 34 Comments

Joe McGinniss is the Robert DeNiro of nonfiction writing

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Doug Gibson

A long time ago, Joe McGinniss wrote good books, including “The Selling of the President” and “Fatal Vision.” A long time ago, Robert DeNiro made great films such as “The Godfather Part II,” Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull.” DeNiro got … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Janet Maslin, Joe McGinniss, Mainstream media, New York Times, Politico, Sarah Palin, The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin | 12 Comments

The Internet has served as a boon for truthers, other far-fetched conspiracy theories

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Doug Gibson

I just read an interesting book, Among the Truthers: A Journey Through America’s Growing Conspiracist Underground, by Canadian journalist Jonathan Kay. There’s more than truthers covered. The book also looks at Birthers, the Obama-is-a-Muslim crowd, the vaccines-cause-autism folks, the New … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Among the Truthers: A Journey Through America's Growing Conspiracist Underground, Birthers, Conspiracy theories, Jonathan Kay, Sept. 11 attacks, The Internet, Truthers | 37 Comments

The economy is handcuffing the Obama administration

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Doug Gibson

President Obama is having a bad day/month/year. His party lost a U.S. House seat in New York that it had held for 90 years. His campaign launched a very dumb website, Attack Watch (click), that is already being laughed at … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Bad economy, Declining standard of living, Great recession, Lost jobs, Poor approval ratings, President Barack Obama, The American President | 19 Comments

John C. Bennett was the Lucifer of early Mormonism

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Doug Gibson

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here) Dr. John Cook Bennett: most Mormons probably know him from LDS Church Almanacs as “assistant president of the LDS Church” for a year or so during the Nauvoo … Read More