Author Archives: ptmadmin

In Mormon-heavy Utah, is there only one way to think about politics? Now that Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, Jr. are running for president of the United States, I think it’s fair to discuss the circumstances surrounding Mormons and politics ideas.  I’d like to know if there’s such as thing as Mormon political philosophy?  Is there one true way for the one true religion to express itself philosophically and politically?

Of course, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is both clear and adamant that it does not endorse political candidates and that every member of the LDS Church is free to exercise their civic franchise how they see fit.  But such reminders seem desperate when the obvious so often dangles in front of the spoken word.  What’s obvious is that the LDS Church is value-driven; its doctrines have temporal as well as spiritual meanings, and it can get pretty confusing after a while. read more

Utah seems to be the multi-level marketing capital of the world and I wonder why. A story the other day in the Salt Lake Tribune caught my eye.  The picture with the story had a confident-looking, middle-aged, man standing by a beautiful Rolls-Royce with the name of his company on its side.  That struck me as peculiar – a Rolls-Royce with a commercial logo on it.  The only other thing I can compare it to are those pink Cadillacs that Mary Kay cosmetics hands out to its top performers.

The fellow in the picture says that he’s made $600,000 a month – yes, a month – working for his MLM.  The product, made here in Utah, is another one of those miracle fruit juices that seems to fix whatever ails you. read more

This week I want to talk about legislative rankings.  In recent years, after each legislative session has concluded, The Salt Lake Tribune releases a scorecard ranking state legislators on how conservative or liberal they are.  These rankings are based on a composite of other measurements established by several special interest groups, such as the Sierra Club, Parents for Choice in Education, the Utah Education Association, and the Utah Taxpayers Association.

But perhaps there’s a better way to determine who in our state legislature is really conservative or liberal?  A professor down at Brigham Young University thinks there is a better way. read more

This week I want to talk about Mormons and the ACLU.  University of Utah President Michael Young, a descendant of Brigham Young, spoke at rival Brigham Young University about the importance of religious freedom and suggested that all Latter-day Saints should be members of the American Civil Liberties Union.  For the left-leaning editors at the Salt Lake Tribune that pronouncement was front-page news.  At the Deseret News, it was at the very end of a broader story.

It’s incredible news that anyone of President Young’s stature would believe, let alone say publicly, that Mormons should join the ACLU.  If we lined up 100 legal issues that the ACLU has worked on I could assure you that very few would support any official position taken by the LDS Church. read more

Are Utahns dedicated to limited government?  I’m Paul Mero.  I’ll be right back.

According to information from the governor’s office, between 1990 and 2009 the state’s total budget grew 120 percent, and that is after adjusting for inflation. Without the inflation adjustment, state spending growth was a whopping 261 percent. By comparison, Utah’s population over that same period grew by only 62 percent, and our median household income – a key consideration for government spending since every dollar the state spends starts out in taxpayers’ pockets – grew only 17 percent after adjusting for inflation.  Even California’s state budget, adjusted for inflation, grew by a relatively modest 78 percent over the same period. read more

This week I have more thoughts on nanny state nonsense.  State Senator Ben McAdams from Salt Lake City has announced that he’ll sponsor a bill making it a crime to leave a child alone in a car.  His bill would make a parent criminally negligent for endangerment of a child.

While you’re soaking that in, let’s go over his motive.  Last year, in 2010, 49 children died as a result of being left unattended in a car.  We can presume that those deaths occurred on hot summer days.  That number of children – 49 – was a nationwide number.  Forty-nine kids, out of over 100 million of them, died.  Of course, just one death is sad.  But I’m wondering if 49 deaths out of a possible 100 million, none of those deaths in Utah last year, is the sort of compelling reason to move a new law? read more