mtnbikemom

Cranberry pie. We made 24 of them last night. Pure awesomeness.

And the best of both worlds, crunchy Biscoff. Greatest stuff ever.

I have not met a single person who is opposed to UHC and simultaneously believes that those who can't afford medical care don't deserve help. I've never even seen nor heard that suggested. The argument is ALWAYS that yes, people do need assistance and we need to find the best way to deliver that "help". Government and "help" are not interchangeable or synonymous terms. It's not a issue of using pretty or ugly words but an issue of assigning accurate or inaccurate motives. And this is coming from someone who has been uninsured for years because we just can't afford it. I would love nothing more than to have my badly herniated discs fixed or even looked at. Heck, I would love to just have a yearly exam, once every 10 years. Maybe a mammogram. Just in case the rebuttal is (not specifically you, Anne) that it's easy to object when you have all the money, help, coverage, etc. you need.

Oddly enough I just had a guest speaker in class who I thought was a black, lesbian woman. It took me a full 45 minutes to realize that it was a woman in the process of F to M transition (provided she/he could acquire the $200,000 for the surgery). As an added twist, she/he now identifies as gay because she, soon to be a he, has always been attracted to men. Talk about confusing. She/he was so confident that no one would ever guess that she was a woman and thus her transition was easier than most. I seriously debated pointing out that no time was I ever confused as to her sex. She/he was clearly female to me and many others in the room. Equally tempting to suggest it would be cheaper to just keep her parts and go by the name Larry when required. Social graces won over and I kept that comment to myself. So yes, her biological sex is F. Psychosocially he/she has identified as male. I feel genuine sympathy with the obvious struggles and turmoil she/he experiences, whether my perspective is they are due to being dealt a crappy biological hand or a result of her decisions. It is still suffering. Why this lecture would ever be considered vital to my college education is perplexing. That I had to pay tuition for this is maddening. *she was also LDS. Black, transgendered, gay, LDS person has to be the pinnacle of minority groups.

Thus the qualifier-"Right or wrong". No doubt I articulated that point in clumsy fashion.

In the 1963 General Conference, Hugh B. Brown stated: "it is a moral evil for any person or group of persons to deny any human being the rights to gainful employment, to full educational opportunity, and to every privilege of citizenship". He continued: "We call upon all men everywhere, both within and outside the church, to commit themselves to the establishment of full civil equality for all of God's children. Anything less than this defeats our high ideal of the brotherhood of man."[73] Right or wrong I know this quote is often referenced in regards to Brown asserting that the priesthood ban be overturned. I think Brown also suggested that revelation was not required to end the ban because revelation was not used to initially institute the practice. I will try to find that reference.

I do. Unfortunately I can't remember the specifics but I want to think it was about the exclusive nature of the groups; not very inviting to others. There is fairly high probability that I'm making that up completely. For all I know it could have been a suggestion that Bunco groups include more hot gluing and an admonishment to recite the YW theme before play begins and to use only church music to set the mood. Essentially Eowyn, my information is useless.

I know Hinckley used a jet provided by Jon Hunstman Sr. We watched it land at Moab 'international' airport and couldn't resist announcing the arrival of God Force One.

Fantastic! Loved it. Thanks for sharing.

I hear that! Multiple sharps make me break out in a cold sweat and the room starts to spin. Wait, maybe that's because I didn't eat breakfast. Regardless, sharps are evil. To slightly alter a classic Spinal Tap quote: "The key of c# is the most difficult of all keys. It's makes pianists weep, instantly." On the positive side of Sally Deford, you don't have to look at the music, just default to an arpeggio in the left hand and you're probably dead on. Time saver for everyone.

I may not say 'no' directly, but I have found that several return questions seem to shed light on the issue. Specifically, "What exactly do you mean by the word 'play' ?" "What's the over/under on accuracy?" "How important is the actual key to you?" "Is it written by Janice Kapp Perry?" * "Are you opposed to incorporating kazoos into the accompaniment?" It's shocking that I don't get asked more often, what with my obvious willingness to honor all types of requests. * Apologies to all the JKP fans out there. Not meant to offend.

I had someone recently hand me some music and say, "This is much harder to sing than it is to play. It's in the key of C." Huh. I think you meant C#. Critical difference. I'm just going to pick a new key each time I play it and see if he notices.

On a related note, I'm going to start requesting quarters every time someone in the ward hands me a piece of music and says "I looked at this, it doesn't seem very hard." We'll be out of debt in no time. Add a tip jar to the equation and we could add a wing to our house. If the piece doesn't look that hard, why aren't they playing it?

Same thing in Utah. 5th grade is Utah history and my 7th grader is currently in a Utah Studies course.

I live in the Salt Lake area and have been involved with competitive soccer for almost 25 years as a player, coach and parent. The costs have truly escalated to the point where it's cost prohibitive for so many kids. Playing for fun seems to have fallen by the wayside and as the financial investment increases, so does the deplorable behavior from uber competitive parents. Alas, a conversation for another day. For this particular team, so many parents revolted due to cost and participation requirements that the team actually disbanded. A new competitive club has formed as a result and is doing quite well.

Ah I love the Zero Tolerance policies. Just a couple of stories (of many) to illustrate: #1-When my son was in first grade I received a call that he'd been playing with weapons during recess and the principal was very concerned. My son would not be allowed to go back out to recess until this was resolved. His weapon? A light saber. Not even the bright green toy one that he received for his birthday. An imaginary one. He was playing Star Wars with his friend (also in trouble for 'playing with weapons) in a light saber duel. The 'zero tolerance' policy nearly resulted in expulsion for a 6 year old. We pointed out the absurdity of the rule to the administration and thought it was hilarious; the administration did not. #2-Same first grader, short with bright red hair, seemed to be fodder for an older kid we'll call Thug. Thug loved to pick on my son, a situation the teacher and school were aware of. We had told my son that he was absolutely justified in defending himself and others. In first grade parlance that was distilled to 'sometimes it's okay to punch back.' I received a call from the principal that my son was suspended for two days for fighting with Thug. My normally expressive and talkative son was having trouble explaining what happened so I had him draw me a picture. He drew two fighting kids but there was also a pair of "floating fists". He explained that when Thug tried to hit him, he grabbed Thug's fists, and starting hitting Thug utilizing the playground classic "Stop hitting yourself." The principal said that they were well aware that my son hadn't started anything but zero tolerance meant zero tolerance. He also wanted us to be aware that there was some sort of misunderstanding as my son had told him it that sometimes it was okay to punch back. Things deteriorated when I explained there was no misunderstanding. Things went from bad to worse when the principal made suggestions on how we should punish my son while he was suspended and I responded by asking my son where he wanted to ski the next day. All in all we've received hours of entertainment and additional family time because of zero tolerance. I'm calling it a win.

Hi Anatess, I don't know where Pohranite is from but the competitive leagues/teams in my area quite costly and definitely not a trophy for everyone set up. The team for my 12 year old son was $1800 for the year and that did not include equipment; equipment was part of a fundraising obligation. In fact, if we didn't fund raise they tried to tell us that we wouldn't have balls or nets at practices or games. On top of that they asked the kids to sign a contract agreeing not to participate in any other extra-curricular activities. My son opted not to play. So yes, I can see where Pahoranite is coming from. It's very frustrating.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one Vort.

I would flat out ask your co-workers if there is a problem and what it is. My experience has been that often just acknowledging a problem and/or calling them on their behavior is enough to initiate behavior change-maybe from just sheer embarrassment. Could be they are intimidated or irritated that you choose not participate in the most sacred of female pastimes: gossiping and passive aggressive craziness. As a woman I am often shocked at how our supposed predisposition for nurturing is counter-balanced by sheer meanness. Guys get in a fight at work, throw a few punches and walk away friends. Women resort to creating what could be mistaken for "Survivor: Workplace"-Season 612. Alliances, tribes, voting teammates out, etc. (full disclosure: I've seen maybe 2 episodes of Survivor so I may be way off base with the comparison). It's disgusting. On a related note, women are bent on blaming men for perceived inequalities in the workplace and hostile work environments while ignoring the role they play in creating those problems. We need to work on ourselves first (not directed at you Suzie, but your co-workers).

It's true PC. The less certain I am the more defensive I become. I think this is largely the result of an effort to work through new information and simultaneously form a coherent response. However, for me personally, I am more prone to anger when in the process of discussion someone insists they know what I believe better than I do. It illicits both fight and flight. I'm ticked off and then I leave when it becomes apparent the efforts at discussion are futile. Basically, its best if I stick to discussions solely based on mountain bike trails and favorite flavors of Vitamin Water Zero. Sorry, I'm not much help. :)

As purely anecdotal support, I know that the incident in reply #8 does indeed happen. When I called to make an appointment for my first temple recommend interview the Stake Executive Secretary asked when I was planning to go through. I explained that I was going through for the the first time in June and getting married in August. He told me that they don't typically allow women to take out endowments that far in advance of getting married. I calmly explained that my endowments were a separate activity from my marriage, neither one dependent on the other, I would be getting my endowments whether or not marriage was on the horizon. And, I was 30 years old-8 short years ago. Had I not pushed the issue, multiple times, I would not have been allowed to get my recommend for a June endowment. This does not imply that it is common practice or that all men in leadership positions are power hungry misogynists, but it does happen.

The ranking is not based exclusively on population. Were that the case, a number of cities would eclipse Salt Lake despite its growing and very active gay community. As has been pointed out the gay community in SLC is very supportive. Interesting to note that the editor of The Advocate is from Salt Lake City...

Not intentional at all. Just completely incompetent when it comes to posting, cutting and pasting.

Jon Hunstman Jr. is having difficulty determining whether or not he is Mormon. I know it can be hard. Poor fellow. I don't think this had the intended effect-Utah is the only place paying attention. Regardless of how he defines himself he will always be percieved nationally as a Mormon (foor good and bad) and now he will be percieved in Utah as a waffling, slimy politician. Huntsman says his Mormon church membership is 'tough to define' - ksl.com