November 2004

I always thought that while the Church’s web site is a tremendous resource it’s a little tricky to navigate, the Gospel Library in particular. Plus, I have trouble downloading the occasional PDF. Sounds like we can look forward to some changes coming to the siteUnder the direction of the Priesthood Executive Council, chaired by Elder Jeffery R. Holland and Elder Dallin H. Oaks, programmers and engineers redesigned the Web services to provide simplified navigation, broader searching capabilities, translation into 10 languages and more interactive resources. The new features will be available in early 2005. . .


“It’s now grown to the point that it’s got to be rebuilt from the ground up,” Richman said. “It’s a lot smarter way to build a Web site, frankly.”

Established in July 1999, lds.org was created as “a more unified front” to replace the various Web sites posted by wards and individuals, said Azurdee Veigel, office manager in the Office of Application, Design and Development for the LDS Church.

Currently lds.org only allows for English navigation. When the new site is updated it will provide full site navigation and content in 10 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Also, the Web site’s limited searching capabilities will expand to enable users to search anywhere on the site in any of those 10 languages. Many of these improvements are a result of suggestions made by those who use the Web site.

Courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune


And thanks to Charley and The Third Avenue

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595107214,00.html

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/davidhorowitz/dh20041120.shtml

Utah Second District Representative, Jim Matheson was unanimously elected as one of five leaders for the fiscally conservative Democrat caucus called the Blue Dog Democrats:

Being a Democrat from staunchly Republican Utah, U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, is accustomed to being in a minority.


Good thing, because he’s now been unanimously elected a leader among a minority group of minority Democrats.


Matheson was chosen Wednesday night as the co-chairman for administration of the so-called Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of 34 fiscally conservative Democrats known to buck their own party and spend-happy Republicans alike.


“I am really excited to be chosen,” Matheson said. “It is the most cohesive caucus in Congress and the most substantive” . . .


Anyone can apply for membership, but candidates must undergo rigorous vetting to ensure they have the fiscal credentials to wear the Blue Dog tag. They must agree to a strict set of bylaws and then be voted in by at least two-thirds of the current Blue Dog pack.


“It’s not overly exclusive, but it is rigorous and it’s a necessary process that makes us cohesive and substantive,” Matheson said.

The Blue Dogs are not exactly the most influential croup in the Democratic party, but maybe that will change as the Democrats restructure after the election. Interestingly, despite significant Republican gains in the last election (and with Senator Hatch stepping down as chair of Judiciary Committee) its Mormon Democrats who are gaining prominence in national politics.

The Washington Times has a nice obituary:

He took on dozens of news organizations and high-profile scions of the so-called liberal press, mounting cases against the New York Times, CNN, NBC and The Washington Post, prompting former Post editor Ben Bradlee to call him a “miserable, carping, retromingent vigilante,” comparing Mr. Irvine to an animal that urinates backward. [What a badge of honor!]


Mr. Irvine responded by sending Mr. Bradlee a trophy, courtesy of the Miserable Carping Retromingent Vigilante Society.


Mr. Bradlee sent it back.


The intrepid but good-humored Mr. Irvine got his point across.


“It sticks in my craw, but I’ll say it: Irvine and his AIM are good for the press,” Post ombudsman Charles Seib said at the time.


“I feel like you’re an absolutely legitimate group, and I personally have a lot of respect for you, Reed,” CNN founder Ted Turner once told him.
“Though he wasn’t trained as a journalist, he became one and was better at it than most journalists themselves,” said Cliff Kincaid, editor of the AIM Report.


“But it was a shock to many of them that he used the tools of their trade to analyze their work. He bought up shares in big media companies so he could attend their stockholders meetings and ask unpopular questions — and it all ended up in his report to the public,” Mr. Kincaid said.


Mr. Irvine wielded words with the best of them, penning hundreds of columns and joining in spirited debate with foes on CNN’s “Crossfire” and ABC’s “Nightline,” among other broadcasts. . .


Born in Salt Lake City, Mr. Irvine graduated from the University of Utah before joining the U.S. Marines as an intelligence officer during World War II. While serving as a Japanese interpreter for the allied occupation force in Japan, he met Kay Araki, a survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bomb attack. The couple married three years later. . .


A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 17700 Old Baltimore Road, Olney, with interment at Parklawn Cemetery. Memorial contributions can be made to Accuracy in Media.

In addition, there is an offical website for Reed Irvine, which has a biography, some of his more recent articles, and a guest book (Thanks all-encompassingly).

It’s never too early to mark you FranklinCovey™ planners.

Third Annual J. Reuben Clark Law Society Devotional

Speaker: Elder Dallin H. Oaks
Place: Broadcast from the Conference Center-Little Theater Via the LDS Church Satellite Network
Date: February 11, 2005
Time: 7:00 P.M. MST

http://www.reachm.com/amstreet/archives/2004/11/17/hatch-for-chief-justice/
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Reed Irvine, founder of Accuracy In Media died yesterday. I was his home teacher for a brief spell right after my mission, about ten years ago. Back then I was not very politically aware (at least less so than now), and he didn’t talk much about what he did. But I think he is considered a pioneer, if not the godfather of conservative media watchdogs.

National Review posted a comment on his legacy.

http://www.timesandseasons.org/wp/index.php?p=1604
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Someone’s not too happy about Senator Reid’s new position:

His positions on trade, abortion, war, civil liberties, and health-care mirror the Republicans almost identically.

In fact, his adversaries adore him for his conservative propensities. Fellow Mormon and right-wing Senator Orrin Hatch, a high-ranking Republican from Utah, says, “We all respect Senator Reid. He is one of the moderate voices around here who tries to get things to work.”

Reid’s politics, like that of George W. Bush, are greatly influenced by his religious philosophy. His opposition to gay-marriage and abortion are certainly prejudiced by his rigid Mormon principles. Reid, a gospel teacher at his local church-ward in Washington DC, will become the highest elected Mormon in US history. And he is sure to make the Latter Day Saints’ community quite proud.

http://www.thunderstruck.org/atomic.htm
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Courtesy of MacDesktops

It’s now official. The Senate Democrats just had a caucus meeting this morning to choose Nevada Senator Harry Reid (who happens to be LDS) to be their leader. This was just a formality as Senator Reid locked up enough support immediately after Senator Daschle’s loss in South Dakota.

Some Democrats have expressed concern that Senator Reid may be too moderate or soft-spoken to be an effective leader for the party. However, from what I have seen, he will be a tough adversary and will not roll over for the Senate Republicans. He can go on the attack when he wants to. And Senator Reid will have Illinois Senator Richard Durbin who is assuming Reid’s former post as Minority Whip to make the liberals happy.

Reid, a Mormon from tiny Searchlight, Nev., lacks Daschle’s flair as a speaker and public figure and rarely goes on TV outside his home state. Moreover, he gets along well with Republican leaders and has parted company with most Democratic lawmakers on some prominent issues, such as his support for a constitutional ban on flag burning and his opposition to abortion in most cases.

Senator Reid is now the most powerful LDS politician in the nation, and a Democrat to boot! It will be interesting to see how his new prominence will affect the view (in and out of the Church) that Mormons are only Republicans. Church leadership has made many attempts to impress this upon both members and the general public and I imagine they are quite pleased with this development.

P.S. This morning’s Democratic caucus vote interrupted the judicial nominee hearing for BYU General Counsel Thomas Griffith. The hearing has just reconvened.

http://www.lds.org/newsroom/showrelease/0,15503,3881-1-20465,00.html
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http://gmail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=12103&rand=0.08837219373187555
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