MMORG 2 | Mormon Reddit Gazette
x-posted from Main Street Plaza
One year later: same crew, same production values, same old, same old.
April 7, 2009: “Gathering Storm” (if you’ve seen it, pls skip to the second vid)
April 5, 2010: “One Way Out: An Invitation to America”
Released almost exactly one year apart and produced by the same Arizona Mormon crew.
What gives, Mitt? Are you and SLC the only ones who can save us now?
x-posted at Main Street Plaza
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"If I see Harry Reid in the temple, I'm going to hit him."
The Salt Lake Tribune reports:
Reid was invited by a fellow Mormon to give a fireside talk at an LDS stake center in Las Vegas last weekend … his talk was not intended to be political, but only about his spiritual awakening and connection to the LDS Church.
The talk never happened:
As soon as word got out … the e-mails and phone calls began pouring in … Messages, threats, that if he were permitted to speak, members of my church would heckle him from the audience. One man said, “If I see Harry Reid in the temple, I’m going to hit him.”
Hey, Utah! Romney, Hatch, Bennett All Supported Health Insurance "Mandate"
2006 - Romney: “We insist that everybody who drives a car has insurance. And cars are a lot less expensive than people.” In other words, a mandate.
1993 - Utah Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett co-sponsored a GOP health reform bill requiring people to have medical coverage. In other words, a mandate.
WTF? - There was an exemption for people opposed to holding coverage for religious reasons???
Original Utah TV news report that set me off can be found here.
In other news, I want to hear no more civics lessons from the religious royalty of our least democratic institutions.
If Glenn Beck followed his own instructions, he'd be an ex-Mormon
Guest post by Kaimi.
Well known LDS political pundit Glenn Beck recently told his radio listeners that they should leave churches with the words “social justice” or “economic justice” on their websites:
I beg you, look for the words ‘social justice’ or ‘economic justice’ on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!This overheated rhetoric has already drawn fire from Catholics and Protestants. But it’s not just Protestants and Catholics who are in trouble. In fact, if Glenn followed his own instructions, he’d be an ex-Mormon. Let’s try it out, shall we?
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BYU Management Society to award NOM director Orson Scott Card
From the press release:
The Washington, D.C. Chapter of the BYU Management Society (BYUMS-DC) announced today that it would honor best-selling author and columnist Orson Scott Card at its annual Gala Dinner on April 24, 2010. Card will receive the chapter’s Distinguished Public Service Award and will deliver keynote remarks about his views on ethical leadership today and his experiences as a prominent member of the literary and academic communities.“We are proud to be honoring Orson Scott Card during this year’s Gala Dinner,” said Sen. Gordon Smith, Chairman of the Advisory Board. “His words and his example have reached millions of people, and his spirit of mentorship and service have much to offer our community.”
GOP Operative Fred Karger Embraces LGBT Activism
Dan Morain’s Sacramento Bee profile: An operative comes out of the shadows
Fred Karger and Chris Morrow’s camera, prior to and later at the Prop 8 Trial (with guest appearances by Richard Stapler, Stuart Milk, Therese Stewart, Adam Hahn, and David Boies):
LDS candidate touts Mormon-only male-only campaign rallies
From Rexburg’s Standard Journal:
Idaho gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell will be mixing what he calls doctrines from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into his gubernatorial campaign in a series of meetings slated for LDS elders only … targeted specifically at “faithful priesthood-holders of the LDS Church” to discuss the so-called “White Horse” prophecy.Borrowing a line more commonly used by the LDS leadership to explain Mormon temple ceremonies, the candidate described his rallies as sacred, not secret.
“There is nothing secret about the meeting — it’s just the sacred nature of the things we will be talking about,” said Rammell. “We are going to talk about (LDS Church founder) Joseph Smith’s prophecy that the Constitution will be hanging by a thread and that the Latter-day Saint elders will step forward and save it.”
Mormon women are barred from holding the LDS priesthood, but the GOP hopeful provided a further explanation for their exclusion from the campaign meetings:
Rammell said that though LDS women were not invited because of lack of space, he hopes that the men will take the message home to their wives.
And what message might some critics take home from Rammell’s announcement? As the Standard Journal notes: “In the past, Rammell has been criticized for using his faith to further his campaign.”
Whether the aspiring Republican is guilty of that in this instance will be the subject of in-depth follow-up coverage by the Standard Journal, just as soon as its reporters have obtained the ecclesiastical clearance required to attend Rammell campaign events.
In other Mormon news:
Utah native and Brigham Young University alumnus Matthew S. Petersen has been elected to serve as chairman of the Federal Election Commission in 2010.
David J. Harmer, Mormon congressional candidate: The Spirit prompted me to run, because I am strong like Captain Moroni.
(Gen. JC Christian, patriot, provides additional commentary: Captain Moroni for Congress)
And … Meet Ben McAdams, Utah’s newest state senator:
Ben McAdams, a senior adviser for Salt Lake Mayor Ralph Becker, will become Utah’s newest state senator … McAdams, who is married and the father of three children, told the delegates he would work for fairness and equality. “I plan to be a visible ally for gay and transgendered Utahns,” he said. “We are agents of change.”
More Mormons like Ben McAdams, please.
Update: Rex Rammell describes official LDS church disapproval of his tactics as “ridiculous”:
An LDS church spokesman has released this statement:
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is politically neutral and does not endorse or promote any candidate party or platform. Accordingly, we hope that the campaign practices of political candidates would not suggest that their candidacy is supported by or connected to the church.”
Rex:
“We are in America’s second Revolutionary War to save our freedom, which we paid for with blood. We need God’s help and I’m not ashamed to ask for it … It is time we rise up and defend the Constitution. In order to motivate my fellow LDS Elders, I’ve invited many to attend meetings to discuss Joseph Smith’s prophecies and how we can help save the Constitution. Some people … think it is inappropriate for me to hold such meetings. I think that is ridiculous.”
8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION will premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EMAIL: Press@mormonproposition.com
8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION SET FOR WORLD PREMIERE AT THE 2010 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL IN PARK CITY, UTAH.
Miami, Florida - DAVID v. GOLIATH PRODUCTIONS announced this week that their new and highly anticipated documentary, 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION, a film by Reed Cowan & narrated by Oscar-winning writer of MILK, Dustin Lance Black, will debut its world premiere at the world renowned SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL in January 2010.
Reed Cowan saying today, “I’ve had a chance to talk to our film’s narrator, Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black about our SUNDANCE acceptance and he is thrilled. Our Executive Producer Bruce Bastian is thrilled and our other Producers, Steven Greenstreet, Emily Pearson and Chris Volz are also … over the moon. Additionally, our production staff which includes Richard Samuels and Brian Bayerl of Greendoor Productions and Jess Elwood our animator are also thrilled.
Months ago, in an interview with THE ADVOCATE magazine, SUNDANCE’s John Cooper said: “I think we’re going to see a lot more hard-hitting political documentaries. Prop. 8 was sort of a wake-up call. I can see that fire in the belly to finish this thing off, to get to the next phase in American life.”
Everyone involved with 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION is honored to be a part of what Mr. Cooper was talking about. 8:TMP is indeed the hardest-hitting political documentary to be released in years. It is to Mormons and their anti-gay allies what Fahrenheit 9-11 was to the Bush Administration.
That’s why our team will have a ground presence in Park City and Salt Lake City the likes of which has never been seen before through our SLC manager Jacob Whipple. For that, we’ll be enlisting the help of thousands of people … details to come.
This is an important film. Our team believes it strikes at the heart of one of our country’s highest held values — separation of church and state. And mostly, this film is important because it honors in a very respectful and dignified way, those who felt the sting of prop. 8 and other legislation like it. This is their story. And with the invitation from SUNDANCE, it will now be the world’s to experience.
MORE 8:TMP INFO AND NEWS AT: www.mormonproposition.com
Ultra-Conservative Utah Think Tank in Open Revolt against LDS leadership
LDS Apostle Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: Salt Lake City gay-rights measures could work statewide.
Utah’s Sutherland Institute responds:
As a public relations opportunity, the LDS Church’s statement before the Salt Lake City Council may assuage the minds and soften the hearts of advocates of “gay rights” in Utah. As a policy statement, it is problematic. The approved ordinances before the Salt Lake City Council are unsound in principle, clarity, and effect.Sutherland’s president, Paul Mero: The Gloves Must Come OffWe, once again, call on the Utah State Legislature to overturn these local ordinances on the basis of sound public policy.
Sexual orientation is an illusion. Your idea of rights is an illusion. Your equality is illusory.Video and complete transcript after the break.
Mormon Like Me: Black Saints, Bigots, and Beck
Guest post by MJBY (The author teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University and has written extensively about blacks in the American West).
Marshall, Missouri — I’ve known the name of the town for a decade now, since I teamed with Darius Gray to write three books and produce two documentaries on blacks in the Old West — black Mormons, to be specific — a subject which causes most to raise a skeptical brow. The usual response is, “You mean there were some?” Or “I thought you all didn’t let Blacks join your church until — what — 1980?” Or this one, which we heard at a Los Angeles book fair: “Didn’t you Mormons consider blacks one slim notch above monkeys until, like, last year?”
Mormon anti-gay efforts in Maine
Guest post by djinn
Why are my people doing this? I just read “The Lucifer Effect” by Philip Zimbardo. He ran the original Stanford Prison Experiment where students assigned to be guards quickly increased the abuse that they heaped on students assigned to be prisoners such that after a single week (and after the guards had discovered sexual humiliation) the experiment was stopped. He chillingly details how almost all of us will be evil given the right circumstances. We all are good, but in the right circumstances, we all are bad.
Dr. Reed Quinn is both a cardiologist and a Stake President for the Mormon Church. This means he is the ecclesiastical leader for, in this case, 12 Mormon congregations. As a cardiologist he has undoubtedly saved the lives of many people. His wife, Eileen Quinn (or at least someone of that name who lives at the same address) is the CEO of the PAC Maine4Marriage.org, which has a spiffy website here. It’s slogan? “Marriage. One Man. One Woman.” That’s pretty amusing—even funnier since the authors don’t get the joke. You can point and snicker all you want.
3 out of 4 ain't bad (unless you're NOM)
Some fair-minded person sent me this link prior to NOM’s public posting of their 2007 and 2008 federal tax returns:
That used to be an invisible link to NOM’s 2008 return. It’s dead now.
But it was live when I first posted it, and soon after I did, NOM (finally) posted their 2007 and 2008 returns in plain sight on their own website.
Interestingly enough, the 2007 return they’ve posted there differs from the 2007 return I previously received from the IRS. For example, they have removed Common Sense America from the list of hired contractors in this latest version of their 2007 return.
What happened? Did they suddenly realize (in 2009!) that they hadn’t actually paid Common Sense America $166,000 back in 2007 as previously reported?
Federal gov't must investigate NOM's finances
Guest post by Danielle Truszkovsky.
BEFORE WRITING THIS column, I sat and stared at my computer screen for what seemed like ages trying to figure out a way to make the topic of IRS regulations seem a bit more interesting.
Let’s face it, most people just don’t want to read about a subject as dry as tax law. Unfortunately, one of the only ways to detect questionable practices by organizations like the National Organization for Marriage is to first acquire the group’s tax return, research it in detail, and make public the findings. Not surprisingly, NOM’s initial return generated more questions than answers.
8: The Mormon Proposition (Pre-Sundance Update)
This past May, I caught up with documentary filmmaker Reed Cowan, who didn’t shy away from answering some pointed (and personal) questions about 8: The Mormon Proposition. As the first NYU grad in my family’s six generations of Mormons, go figure that I’d be personally interested in both Mormonism and film (nevermind Mormons on film!). In other words, since that initial interview with Reed, I’ve been anxiously hoping that he’d keep me in the loop as the film progressed. After bugging Reed for an update, he’s now brought me up to speed:
CB: Since we last spoke, I’ve heard through the grapevine that a certain Dustin Lance Black provided the narration for 8:TMP, and Bruce Bastian is now on board as Executive Producer. How did that happen?
