The Political Surf

Rick Perry is pathetic

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Doug Gibson

GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry is such a pandering clown. Romney “bets” Perry $10,000 that he’s wrong about his Massachusetts’ health care mandate and the media, sensing “gotcha,” calls it a gaffe because Romney’s so darn rich he can’t possibly … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged 2012 Republican presidential primaries, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democratic Party, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry | 17 Comments

Envy against rich, class warfare the ticket to Obama’s re-election

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Doug Gibson

President Barack Obama’s class warfare speech in Kansas (here) makes clear the theme of the 2012 election for the Democratic Party, and the president: anger at those who have earned more than others. It’s an insidious strategy that both deflects … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged 2012 presidential race, Class envy, Class warfare, Democratic Party, President Barack Obama | 18 Comments

Jacob Marley gets to tell his Christmas Carol, but alas, ’tis more dull

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Doug Gibson

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here.) Have you ever wondered what happened to Jacob Marley, the tormented, consigned-to-eternal-punishment spirit who successfully warned miser Ebenezer Scrooge of the fate that awaited him if he did … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, Christmas novels, Jacob T. Marley, R. William Bennett, Shadow Mountain Publishers, Unauthorized sequels to classic novels | 3 Comments

Sporting Surf: Utah football up, BYU football down

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Doug Gibson

The decision by Jake Heaps to leave BYU is not the biggest story of BYU football. It’s just one baby step toward what will be a consistent decline in the BYU football program.

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Bowl Championship Series, Brigham Young University football, BYU Cougars, Jake Heaps, University of Utah football, Utah Utes | 9 Comments

Please, not Donald Trump hosting a GOP presidential debate

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Doug Gibson

Why are there plans for Donald Trump to moderate a Republican presidential debate on Dec. 27 in Des Moines, Iowa? (Read) Please let this be a joke or merely the imagination of an overzealous Trump press agent. However, Newsmax, a … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged 2012 Republican presidential race, Birthers, Christopher Ruddy, Debates, Donald Trump, Jon Huntsman, Newsmax, Vincent Foster suicide | 11 Comments

Decanonization has occurred in Mormon scriptures

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Doug Gibson

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here) Remember the Lectures on Faith sections in the Mormon scripture, “Doctrine and Covenants?” No? But they were there for 86 years? I’m reading an 1918 “Doctrine and Covenants” … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Decanonization, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Joseph Smith, Lectures on Faith, Mormon scripture, Section 101 of Doctrine and Covenants, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | 47 Comments

Newt Gingrich as Republican nominee? Gedoudahere!

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Doug Gibson

The stamp-your-feet mentality that infects the Republican Party’s base has led to Newt Gingrich surging in the polls, after Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain did. Newt Gingrich for president? Newt Gingrich as a viable challenger to President Barack … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged 2012 Republican presidential race, Anti-Mitt Romney Republicans, Lies, Lobbying, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, President Barack Obama | 8 Comments

It is mustache month this ‘Movember’

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Doug Gibson

Thousands of men have sprouted mustaches during the month of November (although your blogger chickened out). The ‘staches have not been for vanity, and quite a few may be trimmed off in a few days. What “Movember” mustache month (read) … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Jon King, Men's health awareness, Movember, Prostate cancer | 2 Comments

A weekly bath was part of the spiritual cleansing of 1856 Utah

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Doug Gibson

There’s no Currents this week, but I wanted to share this list of questions that Mormon Church leaders — in the middle of the Mormon Reformation — asked Utah members. The information comes from historian David Bigley’s invaluable book, “Forgotten … Read More

Posted in The Political Surf | Tagged Brigham Young, David L. Bigler, Forgotten Kingdom: The Mormon Theocracy in the American West: 1847-1896, Jedediah Grant, Mormon Reformation, Worthiness questions | 7 Comments

Federal judge agrees that high school can ban the American flag on clothing

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Doug Gibson

An interesting decision on a case that generated a lot of controversy last year. U.S. District Judge James Ware of San Francisco agrees that Live Oak High School, in Morgan Hill, Calif., administrators were correct on Cinco de Mayo in forcing … Read More