It has unseasonably warm for the last week, but it began cool off yesterday afternoon. Today the clouds came and went for most of the day. As I drove home from work it was a little cloudy, but just as I got off the freeway onto Woodmen, it started snowing. As I drove up Woodmen, it continued to snow. After crossing Rangewood, I was up high enough to see the world to the south. It was snowing like crazy on me. I looked to the left, North, and the sky was dark and snowy. I looked to the south and the sky was sunny and clear. Woodmen, which runs East and West was clear, straight dividing line. To the north it was dark and snowy and to the south it was sunny and clear. Crazy!?
-Vern
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
I've Moved
I feel bad that I am posting more serious content than family related content when most people I know are probably more interested in the family content. I decided to create another blog to post all my own selfish content, vent content. I don't know why, but I get ideas in my head and I work them to death in my head and I feel like I will explode if I don't get them out. Some are good, some are not, and some are just plain silly. Once I get them out, I feel better. So if my silly, stupid ramblings interest you, you can check them out at my to blog at www.thisonewasavailable.blogspot.com titled Silly Stupid. If not, don't worry about it. Just typing it makes me feel better.
-Vern
-Vern
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Compelled or allowed
(I created my previous post yesterday, but with Scouts and basketball, I didn't have the time to finish it. So I posted it today and forgot to say so in the post. Just wanted to clarify.)
I have been thinking about the recent election and conversations I have had leading up to the elections. One of the things that has me a little baffled is how people I know and respect so well can have such different opinions on the candidates. The co-worker I mentioned in the last post and I had several conversations and he is a religious and morally conservative guy. But we had different opinions on who should be our next president. (Even though I wasn't too thrilled with any of the candidates.) The conclusion I came to is that we want the same basic things, we just have very different opinions of how to achieve those goals.
We both want an improved education system. He believes that the federal government can pump more money into education and improve it. I believe that education would be better served if control was retained closer to home.
We both want an improved heath care system. He believes that federal regulation is the answer. I believe that a personal/family health plan that actually makes sense and allows me the control is the answer.
We both want a strong economy. He believes that corporate greed is the problem and that more government regulation is the answer. I believe that you will never get rid of greed no matter how much you try, that it is not peculiar to CEO's (no one is greedier than Union leadership), and that more unnecessary regulation will hamper business. I believe that we need to punish those who break the law and find ways to encourage and unencumber those who don't.
We both believe in giving to those less fortunate than us. He believes in having the federal government redistribute wealth. He doesn't trust the good in people enough. He said so. I believe that the American people are decent enough to help. And if given the chance to accumulate wealth, they would be able to give more to the poor. One of the best examples of the differences in attitudes may be illustrated by the tax returns of the candidates revealed during the campaign. The McCains donated roughly 30% of their income. The Obamas donated roughly 3% of their income. The Bidens essentially didn't donate any money. The amount was so staggeringly small as to not register as a percentage.
There are some deep fundamental differences between my views and Obama's views, abortion being one of the biggest. As I heard him say in a campaign interview, "I don't want them (his daughters) punished with a baby." My co-worker tried to defend him saying that he didn't really mean it. But I have no reason to doubt that he said what he really meant while off the teleprompter. Obama said it, not me.
It all boils down to the fact that I believe in agency, for better or for worse. Doctrine and Covenants 58:27-28 is one of my favorite scriptures. One that I try to work on when I'm down. I believe in the good people of our country. I believe that we can be better on our own than when compelled by government.
Government is a necessary evil and that is why our founding fathers placed more limits on it than abilities. I heard Obama say during a campaign interview, "Our constitution spells out what our government can't do, but it doesn't say what it can do on our behalf." He is well educated and he knows better. The constitution says how our goverment is set up and what it CAN do. Then it limits it. And Obama has studied the constitution.
I think one of the best examples of the difference between the ability of government and it's citizens is Hurricane Katrina. The church, the Red Cross, others trying to get into New Orleans with supplies, but the governor and the mayor won't let them in. Parking lots full of school buses flooded while people try to evacuate the city after the fact. Government failed the people of New Orleans. Then FEMA came in with red tape and handing out cash to anyone with a good story. But regular citizens, civilians came by the truckload to help. My friend Dan Eldredge was stationed in Mississippi during Katrina and has inspiring stories of the sacrifices of members from the Eastern seaboard. If you know Dan and haven't heard the stories, you should ask him sometime. Where government failed, regular people stepped up to become examples, role models, to inspire.
Contrary to a statement in the inaugural speech, my vote for someone other than Obama was not a vote for fear. It was a vote for hope, my hope. My hope in the goodness of people. My hope that we can change for the better. That faith can grow in the country and lead people to good rather than being compelled. Forcing my kids to do everything doesn't work.
Please understand me in what I am going to say next (especially if an Obama supporter has stumbled across my blog and still happens to be reading). I do not mean this as a personal attack to anyone, and I am certainly not trying to be judgmental in any way. This is not a direct relationship, a direct correlation. It is similar, though. Please hear me out and I welcome any comments you have. I welcome discussion on this next topic.
When we were in our pre-mortal existence, we had a choice. We could choose what appeared to by the easy way. "Government" would force everyone to do what is right. This was the "feel good" option. Or we could choose agency and all the problems that came with it. We would still have church leaders, but it would be limited government. We would have the ability to choose good or evil, or to try to sit the fence. The feel good option today is to try and have government confiscate money (called taxes and fees) and then filter them through the unwieldy and wasteful bureaucracy to redistribute as it sees fit. Many people today choose this option because it makes them feel good. They could accomplish the same thing on their own, and much more efficiently if they would just do it on their own. I am confident that every dollar I give in fast offerings will go to someone in need. I am not confident that any percentage in whole numbers of the money the government takes will go to those in need. I have more confidence in the Red Cross and the Salvation Army than I do the government. I won't give to the United Way because of their support of Planned Parenthood.
I am certainly not saying that confidence in the ability of big government to take care of it's citizens is evil or equates to the decision of 1/3 of our brothers and sisters in pre-mortal life. But I do see certain parallels and can perhaps better understand how some of our siblings fell. Perhaps it began small because it made them feel good to think that they are trying to help all their siblings whom they loved, I'm sure.
I've tried to condense volumes of thoughts and ponderings into this post. I hope it makes sense and flows logically from beginning to end. My mind races faster than my thoughts. There is no way my fingers can keep up. I hope that the reader is able to take this post as it was intended. I wavered on whether I wanted to try it, but this is part of the reason I started this goofy little blog.
-Vern
I have been thinking about the recent election and conversations I have had leading up to the elections. One of the things that has me a little baffled is how people I know and respect so well can have such different opinions on the candidates. The co-worker I mentioned in the last post and I had several conversations and he is a religious and morally conservative guy. But we had different opinions on who should be our next president. (Even though I wasn't too thrilled with any of the candidates.) The conclusion I came to is that we want the same basic things, we just have very different opinions of how to achieve those goals.
We both want an improved education system. He believes that the federal government can pump more money into education and improve it. I believe that education would be better served if control was retained closer to home.
We both want an improved heath care system. He believes that federal regulation is the answer. I believe that a personal/family health plan that actually makes sense and allows me the control is the answer.
We both want a strong economy. He believes that corporate greed is the problem and that more government regulation is the answer. I believe that you will never get rid of greed no matter how much you try, that it is not peculiar to CEO's (no one is greedier than Union leadership), and that more unnecessary regulation will hamper business. I believe that we need to punish those who break the law and find ways to encourage and unencumber those who don't.
We both believe in giving to those less fortunate than us. He believes in having the federal government redistribute wealth. He doesn't trust the good in people enough. He said so. I believe that the American people are decent enough to help. And if given the chance to accumulate wealth, they would be able to give more to the poor. One of the best examples of the differences in attitudes may be illustrated by the tax returns of the candidates revealed during the campaign. The McCains donated roughly 30% of their income. The Obamas donated roughly 3% of their income. The Bidens essentially didn't donate any money. The amount was so staggeringly small as to not register as a percentage.
There are some deep fundamental differences between my views and Obama's views, abortion being one of the biggest. As I heard him say in a campaign interview, "I don't want them (his daughters) punished with a baby." My co-worker tried to defend him saying that he didn't really mean it. But I have no reason to doubt that he said what he really meant while off the teleprompter. Obama said it, not me.
It all boils down to the fact that I believe in agency, for better or for worse. Doctrine and Covenants 58:27-28 is one of my favorite scriptures. One that I try to work on when I'm down. I believe in the good people of our country. I believe that we can be better on our own than when compelled by government.
Government is a necessary evil and that is why our founding fathers placed more limits on it than abilities. I heard Obama say during a campaign interview, "Our constitution spells out what our government can't do, but it doesn't say what it can do on our behalf." He is well educated and he knows better. The constitution says how our goverment is set up and what it CAN do. Then it limits it. And Obama has studied the constitution.
I think one of the best examples of the difference between the ability of government and it's citizens is Hurricane Katrina. The church, the Red Cross, others trying to get into New Orleans with supplies, but the governor and the mayor won't let them in. Parking lots full of school buses flooded while people try to evacuate the city after the fact. Government failed the people of New Orleans. Then FEMA came in with red tape and handing out cash to anyone with a good story. But regular citizens, civilians came by the truckload to help. My friend Dan Eldredge was stationed in Mississippi during Katrina and has inspiring stories of the sacrifices of members from the Eastern seaboard. If you know Dan and haven't heard the stories, you should ask him sometime. Where government failed, regular people stepped up to become examples, role models, to inspire.
Contrary to a statement in the inaugural speech, my vote for someone other than Obama was not a vote for fear. It was a vote for hope, my hope. My hope in the goodness of people. My hope that we can change for the better. That faith can grow in the country and lead people to good rather than being compelled. Forcing my kids to do everything doesn't work.
Please understand me in what I am going to say next (especially if an Obama supporter has stumbled across my blog and still happens to be reading). I do not mean this as a personal attack to anyone, and I am certainly not trying to be judgmental in any way. This is not a direct relationship, a direct correlation. It is similar, though. Please hear me out and I welcome any comments you have. I welcome discussion on this next topic.
When we were in our pre-mortal existence, we had a choice. We could choose what appeared to by the easy way. "Government" would force everyone to do what is right. This was the "feel good" option. Or we could choose agency and all the problems that came with it. We would still have church leaders, but it would be limited government. We would have the ability to choose good or evil, or to try to sit the fence. The feel good option today is to try and have government confiscate money (called taxes and fees) and then filter them through the unwieldy and wasteful bureaucracy to redistribute as it sees fit. Many people today choose this option because it makes them feel good. They could accomplish the same thing on their own, and much more efficiently if they would just do it on their own. I am confident that every dollar I give in fast offerings will go to someone in need. I am not confident that any percentage in whole numbers of the money the government takes will go to those in need. I have more confidence in the Red Cross and the Salvation Army than I do the government. I won't give to the United Way because of their support of Planned Parenthood.
I am certainly not saying that confidence in the ability of big government to take care of it's citizens is evil or equates to the decision of 1/3 of our brothers and sisters in pre-mortal life. But I do see certain parallels and can perhaps better understand how some of our siblings fell. Perhaps it began small because it made them feel good to think that they are trying to help all their siblings whom they loved, I'm sure.
I've tried to condense volumes of thoughts and ponderings into this post. I hope it makes sense and flows logically from beginning to end. My mind races faster than my thoughts. There is no way my fingers can keep up. I hope that the reader is able to take this post as it was intended. I wavered on whether I wanted to try it, but this is part of the reason I started this goofy little blog.
-Vern
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
History Lived
I work with a man who grew up in the rough part of Houston and went to an all-black college. He is married to a doctor, owns a smoothie franchise in the Denver area, runs a non-profit organization to help young blacks get interested in engineering or other math related fields and has worked for our company for 24 years. He is an interestion person and we have had some interesting conversations, particularly leading up to the elections. He takes MLK day off every year and this year he took two days off in a row. As he was reminding me on Friday that he was taking "Dr. King Day" off and would be taking today off for the inauguration as well, his excitement was somewhat infectious as he recommended that I do the same. So yesterday, as I was sitting at work thinking about him, I decided to leave work after lunch. I'm not sure why. I just felt like it considering the extra gravity of this MLK day and in honor of my co-worker.
Today while I was at my desk at work, I put on my headphones and began streaming the inauguration proceedings. (It is against company policy to stream, but I am sure they will forgive me this one if they find out, especially since there were probably many other doing the same thing.) I don't really like inauguration ceremonies; too much like a coronation if you ask me. And I heard one estimate on the radio this morning that put the cost of this inauguration at $172M which would be extremely excessive in a burgeoning economy, much less this one. But I thought I would try to watch considering the historical significance of this one and I wanted to hear the inaugral speech.
It is hard not to get caught up somewhat in the excitement that was obviously surrounding this inauguration. It is a small step forward in American history. I have often said that America is not as racist as the race brokers would have us believe. I feel validated by the fact that not only did America elect a black president, but they did it enthusiastically. And when Aretha Franklin started singing "My Country Tis of Thee" at the inauguration of a black American President, I got chills. I may not agree with his politics, I can certainly appreciate what that moment meant for my co-worker and the potential it has for healing some long standing wounds. I think that the older generations felt it more than I did. Sam Donaldson was beside himself that we could have a black president.
Obama then gave a speech that had me saying "right on" one sentence and then "what the ..." the next. I understand that he ran on a platform of change. And that now that he has had security briefings and received information for which he didn't previously have clearance, he realized that there can't be as much change as he promised during the campaign. And several of the statements he made were strong declarations of America's strength and resolve. I was encouraged by those. But he made some absolutely unnecessary jabs at his predecessor,a man to whom, I am confident, history will be very kind, and at those who voted for someone else.
Obama is going to find that the next four years are going to be tough, that presidential life is not easy. I wish him the best and hope that he can show the world that someone from a minority group in a country can succeed. There are not too many countries in the world that I can think of that would elect a minority to the highest office of the country. I hope that he can overcome the inflamitory retoric that tainted his speech today and work to bring people together as he promised during his campaign. Tomorrow will be tough. But today he can celebrate.
Today while I was at my desk at work, I put on my headphones and began streaming the inauguration proceedings. (It is against company policy to stream, but I am sure they will forgive me this one if they find out, especially since there were probably many other doing the same thing.) I don't really like inauguration ceremonies; too much like a coronation if you ask me. And I heard one estimate on the radio this morning that put the cost of this inauguration at $172M which would be extremely excessive in a burgeoning economy, much less this one. But I thought I would try to watch considering the historical significance of this one and I wanted to hear the inaugral speech.
It is hard not to get caught up somewhat in the excitement that was obviously surrounding this inauguration. It is a small step forward in American history. I have often said that America is not as racist as the race brokers would have us believe. I feel validated by the fact that not only did America elect a black president, but they did it enthusiastically. And when Aretha Franklin started singing "My Country Tis of Thee" at the inauguration of a black American President, I got chills. I may not agree with his politics, I can certainly appreciate what that moment meant for my co-worker and the potential it has for healing some long standing wounds. I think that the older generations felt it more than I did. Sam Donaldson was beside himself that we could have a black president.
Obama then gave a speech that had me saying "right on" one sentence and then "what the ..." the next. I understand that he ran on a platform of change. And that now that he has had security briefings and received information for which he didn't previously have clearance, he realized that there can't be as much change as he promised during the campaign. And several of the statements he made were strong declarations of America's strength and resolve. I was encouraged by those. But he made some absolutely unnecessary jabs at his predecessor,a man to whom, I am confident, history will be very kind, and at those who voted for someone else.
Obama is going to find that the next four years are going to be tough, that presidential life is not easy. I wish him the best and hope that he can show the world that someone from a minority group in a country can succeed. There are not too many countries in the world that I can think of that would elect a minority to the highest office of the country. I hope that he can overcome the inflamitory retoric that tainted his speech today and work to bring people together as he promised during his campaign. Tomorrow will be tough. But today he can celebrate.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Hooray for the man who developed the backyard trampoline
We haven't had our own trampoline since we lived in Reno. It was buried to ground level and we could very well have brought it unless we filled the hole. So it stayed. We got a new one for Christmas, and you wouldn't think that we ever had one. Jen and I have been trash talking about who has the better skills since Christmas Eve. The kids spend hours outside on it. The neighborhood kids are always over even though they have their own. (I guess these ridiculous cages they put on them these days are cool to kids.) 
The kids have been trying to keep up with Mom and Dad in learning new tricks. The second one of us gets on the trampoline, there is a line of kids climbing up. We have to take turns doing tricks that range from the toddler flop to complicated flips and twists.
Heber just likes to jump. When we make him to a trick so that someone else can have a turn, he just does a toddler flop.
Anna has mastered the bum bounce.
Rachel thinks she is pretty nifty for doing multiple bum bounces in a row.
Spencer is close to mastering the knee flip. If he would just get up the courage to get a little more bounce on his flip, he would land it easily.
Jen tries to use her limited gymnastics and her feminine grace to beat me.
OK, she does look better than me. She uses technique. I think, "More power, more height."
I recommend a trampoline to anyone who is looking for a way to spend more quality time as a family.
-Vern
Friday, January 16, 2009
When will we learn from history?!
Today I was sitting in my truck on the project waiting for my inspector to show up to give him some paperwork. I was playing with my new company Blackberry and was messing around on the internet. I found my way onto my dashboard and clicked a link for one of the notable blogs. The blogger was talking about how he was in Washington DC to visit his parents and participate in the activities surrounding the inauguration. (Don't worry. This post is not about politics or politicians.) He began musing about how historical this is. He talked about how we can learn about people and human nature from history but that is all because it doesn't happen again. Everything we are experiencing now is new? Are we smarter or better than our predecessors? How arrogant people are! To think that history doesn't apply to us because we are somehow different, better than people in the past. History doesn't repeat itself? What are we teaching in schools? We have done a remarkable job of building on past knowledge to increase our technical understanding. We have done a much less admirable job of building on the past to better our social situations. I felt like a Nephite sitting at the top of the pride cycle wishing that I could somehow get through to my fellow nephite.
He talked about all the people he admired who have done so much to dispell racism and discrimination. They were all part of recent history, if not contemporaries. It seemed as if he believes that racism is uniquely American and once we can rid our country of racism (as if that is even possible), then racism will be gone from the world for good. Huh?! Doesn't he realize that racism is a HUGE part of all of history? Moses freed an entire race from racism and slavery thousands of years ago. Didn't fix the problem for good. There are millions today in Asia and Africa who would like to eradicate that race still. Racism still leads to slavery throughout much of the world. The problems we have in the US are minor compared to other parts of the world. I am hopefull that the inauguration will be a huge step to reducing racism in our country, but I am not foolish enough to think that it is even possible to cure it entirely without Divine help and a major change in attitude. But I digress. I guess the point of my rant is that this guy didn't understand that history repeats itself and always has. We have more knowledge, mostly thanks to God and technology. If the internet was available thousands of years ago, those peoples would have been able to gain the much of the same knowledge. We are not leaps and bounds smarter than people like Adam, Abraham, Moses, Peter, the Founding Fathers, etc. We have better opportunities for learning in the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. We have more history availableto us, and yet we keep repeating the same mistakes.
I actually wonder how well we are living up to our potential given the opportunities we have. But that is the subject for another post. I hope that more people can begin to learn from history rather than try to make it fit their personal political, social, or religious mold.
-Vern
He talked about all the people he admired who have done so much to dispell racism and discrimination. They were all part of recent history, if not contemporaries. It seemed as if he believes that racism is uniquely American and once we can rid our country of racism (as if that is even possible), then racism will be gone from the world for good. Huh?! Doesn't he realize that racism is a HUGE part of all of history? Moses freed an entire race from racism and slavery thousands of years ago. Didn't fix the problem for good. There are millions today in Asia and Africa who would like to eradicate that race still. Racism still leads to slavery throughout much of the world. The problems we have in the US are minor compared to other parts of the world. I am hopefull that the inauguration will be a huge step to reducing racism in our country, but I am not foolish enough to think that it is even possible to cure it entirely without Divine help and a major change in attitude. But I digress. I guess the point of my rant is that this guy didn't understand that history repeats itself and always has. We have more knowledge, mostly thanks to God and technology. If the internet was available thousands of years ago, those peoples would have been able to gain the much of the same knowledge. We are not leaps and bounds smarter than people like Adam, Abraham, Moses, Peter, the Founding Fathers, etc. We have better opportunities for learning in the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. We have more history availableto us, and yet we keep repeating the same mistakes.
I actually wonder how well we are living up to our potential given the opportunities we have. But that is the subject for another post. I hope that more people can begin to learn from history rather than try to make it fit their personal political, social, or religious mold.
-Vern
No man is an island?
I have come to realize that within my sphere of influence, the people I know, my little corner of the world of blogging, I am a man in a woman's world. Just look at the list of blogs that we follow. The posts are mostly about the kids or girls stuff. Nothing at all wrong with that. I enjoy reading many of the posts. And Jen reads them too; she's just not one to comment. But I have been wanting to blog for some time now to be able to organize my thoughts and get things off my chest. I also enjoy posting about the kids and family activities, so please keep checking from time to time to find posts that you are interested in. If you stumble across ramblings of mine that do not interest you, just skip 'em. At some point in the future, I hope to have practiced organizing my thoughts and putting writing them coherently that I will be at least a little interesting. And to have a guy or two reading it once in a while. I am also trying to encourage Jen to do some posts. But until then, you will have to sort through it. Because I will use this blog from time to time to get things off my chest. And until then, I believe that a man can be an island.
-Vern
-Vern
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
