Separation of Church and State*

Well, I am just about at my wits' end with all of the politicking that is abuzz locally and nationally. But, as a semi-student of the politic, I think a blog is in order. This may take several installments. We shall just have to see.

As alluded to in the title, my first concern is the issue concerning the separation of Church and State. I would like to recall the governmental ideas set forth by the good man John Locke, who is credited with first presenting this concept in modern times. His concern was that the government had no conscience (I paraphrase) and would therefore prove completely inadequate in being connected to such a holy concept as religion, according to his idea of the social contract. Locke was a smart man, whose forward thinking compensated for his homely demeanor. I respect him immensely.

The Founding Fathers (yes, proper nouns), in whom I am not yet well-versed, but have watched the National Treasure movies and own a David McCullough novel, wrote the Constitution of this country with this concept in mind. Yeah, it's that important.

As a side note: I'd like to just remind readers that these very Founding Fathers are, in fact, now Mormon. Surprise! I've even seen the picture in the L.A. Temple. Eat your hearts out, liberal media and Ron Paul, Mr. Constitution himself.

Now, to bring this back to present time, I think that the general American populous has forgotten this blessed concept upon which our country is built. I have read a number of very interesting and informative articles on similar topics, and so I may pull some of my knowledge from them, with other information based on my personal observations of peers, my viewing and reviewing of (mostly the Republican) debates, and my general concern for the stupidity of society.

Mitt Romney is a Mormon. Or rather, he is one of literally millions of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I doubt one will ever hear him classified in that vernacular, but I just thought I'd throw it out there. This is no secret. Although he has not claimed to "wear his religion on his sleeve," as evangelical Huckabee declared, Romney has never made any attempts to conceal nor act ashamed of his beliefs. This is appropriate for anyone. I feel that for the most part, the candidates are all sticking to this. I am still in denial regarding Ms. Clinton's candidacy, or else she would greatly skew my previous statement. But now, here's where it gets interesting.

Romney was, as far as I am aware, the first candidate who had to defend his religion. Allow me to elaborate. Romney, similar to a young Catholic that we all know so well from his rumored escapades with a certain "blonde bombshell," stepped up to the plate and gave a "faith speech." Both were received very well. Look, it's fine that Romney had to give it, that the nation, let's face it, gave him no alternative. He's bright, he's articulate, and he did a very good job. If anyone has a problem with that, then that's a personal issue between that individual and God. There, I said it. Romney did nothing to offend. He simply delivered what was asked, and essentially required, of him.

But here's where my blood boils. Mike Huckabee, in one of the Republican debates, was asked a question regarding a statement he had made at an evangelical event. Huckabee had said something along the lines that in marriage, women are subservient to men, quoting half of a KJV Bible scripture. Huckabee began his answer by making a "casual" observation that although he thought the item of religion was off-limits for all candidates (a clear and direct shot at Romney's "inability" to answer religion questions, that he couldn't handle the questions, even though Romney had 1. faced the most questioning from all, including and especially Huckabee himself and 2. responded more eloquently, more extensively, and more adequately than any other candidate), he was not afraid, nor would shirk the question. His answer was fine, he did just fine. I'm not criticizing that at all. He cleared up the confusion, although that doesn't mean he never made that statement in the first place. How quickly we forget.

A few more points. Huckabee has decidedly won votes for "wearing his religion on his sleeve" (yes, I quote it again) although Romney has been criticized for his beliefs in LDS doctrine and the fact that Jesus and Satan are *gasp!* brothers. My question is, if this really is a political election (which I am doubting more and more each day), then why are these items even coming up?

Barack Obama belongs to a congregation that has made statements concerning the fact that it caters specifically to the Black society. I am not making this up. If this is politics, where is the political correctness? And this is coming from me, a very non-PC persun (yes, a wordy pun). Hilary went to Spanish congregations to hear about MLK Jr. while Obama was churching it up in Atlanta, GA with all of his Black friends at their Black-only church. Huckabee demeaned women. And yet Romney is "the Mormon" running for President. The Mormons, who would love nothing more than to have the Gospel spread to ALL nations (and nationalities), who celebrate the union of a man and woman in eternal marriage as the most holy act a person can perform in this mortal existence, who rejoice in the sacred roles of both men and women, are being put under the microscope. But then again, unfair treatment is no stranger to the Saints.

May I now have us reflect on another famous "Mormon" presidential candidate: Joseph Smith. He was the first and so far the only presidential candidate to be killed/murdered/martyred, however you want to slice it, during his candidacy. Way to go America. Don't get me wrong, I love this nation like my own child. Consequently, I rejoice in her successes, but mourn in her times of unnecessary cruelty.

So here it is, all laid out. Can a "Mormon" be a good president? Yes. Could one also be a poor politician? Yes (Hello, Harry Reid). Do I support Mitt Romney because he is a member of the Church? No. I will employ an additional installment to delve into that topic.

The bottom line: It's time we take a lesson from our forefathers, remember their wise council, and relearn to separate Church and State. This is a Presidential election, after all, not a nationwide democratic vote of which church is truest. Joseph Smith already took care of that for us.

*Note: the opinions in this entry reflect the views of the author and may not be shared by affiliates within the Church, the Republican party, or her social circle.

Battered and Bruised

Well, the semester is almost over. Or rather, it is over, with the exception of finals. Anyway, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on some of the events of this semester. First, about a week after my 21st birthday, I came to my car only to find a note tucked under the windshield. Stating "Sorry man, parking here is tight, " a Mr. Joe from MO proceeded to explain in eloquent prose that he had scratched my car. Thanks for being honest Mr. Joe. He ended up being very cooperative and helpful when I took it in to get it fixed, but boy was that a headache. Here's some pictures of the damage. It took a few shots to get the full extent because I took the pictures in the parking lot and, well, parking here is tight, so I didn't have a lot of room to back up.
So that was the "battered" part. Now, the bruised part. For my structural geology class, we were on a field trip to the Bridal Veil Falls fold. The trip involved some steep slopes and loose rocks. I'm sure one can see easily where this is going. As we were making the descent down another side, we were kind of sliding/hiking/walking/falling down the slope on the leaves and loose gravel. Not really too treacherous, but we looked kind of funny. Anyway, I was already down with about 3/4 of my class. We were just waiting when we heard from above the telltale warning shouts of "rock! John, look out, rock! John! Move!" Now, there are 3 Johns in my class. And all three were nowhere near me, so I figured, hey, I'm solid. I was standing on a steep slope anyway, so I couldn't exactly run. I couldn't exactly move at all, for that matter. So I just minded my own business when all of a sudden BAM! I was knocked clean off my feet, literally bowled over like a pin to a ball. The good news is that the fall wasn't too far because of the steep angle of the slope, and the ground was cushioned by leaves. The worst was the contact of the rock to my calf muscle. Thank goodness it wasn't my shin, or else I might've been dealing with fractured/broken/bruised bones. Instead, I just got a gnarly bruise that lasted for a month or so and a dimple in my calf when I flex. The picture shows the damage the night of. The bruise continued to darken for a few days afterward, but this is the immediate result. The penny is for scale. The flash on the camera made it very difficult to capture the extent of the bruise. So I put on my best tough face after brushing myself off and finished up the trip just fine. I went home and ripped off my pants and ran cold water in the tub where I sat on the edge and with a washcloth, cleaned the wound (there were a few little surficial cuts, but nothing too bad). I also screamed. It kind of hurt more than I let on. Good thing no one was home. The difference in size of my calves from the right leg to the left was comical. So then I put on some shorts, grabbed a bag of ice, and iced my calf while watching a few reruns of America's Next Top Model. Walking wasn't too bad or anything, I just didn't wear heels for a long time. Dancing was the worst because it was like having shin splints in my calf muscle. At least the first week, sharp pains would shoot up through the muscle while clogging every 15 minutes or so. I'd say that's not too bad and I ended up pretty lucky.
But wait! There's more! The whole ordeal wouldn't really be that interesting but for the fact that it was an assassination attempt on my life. For I soon came to discover that who should have dislodged the large rock but none other than the TA for the class! Why she would want to eradicate me, I still don't know, but there must've been malicious intent, as my geology friends jokingly informed me. So I guess I go down in BYU structural geology 375 history as the girl who got knocked over by a rock "thrown" by her TA. Woohoo.
Also of note, in the picture on the right, I am with the group near the top, in the green shirt, to the right.
So there's my battered and bruised semester. I did, however, go to Ikea with Tyler and his roommate Cameron, at which point I purchased a new cover for my down comforter. My bed is beautiful and I love it. This is where I go to rest and it is fabulous. So despite Dr. Jekyll having a bad run-in with a maroon Honda Civic, and despite my calf having a (permanent?) dent in the muscle, I have a wonderful place to sleep.
Other things, even over big or bigger things, have happened this semester than my car getting grossly scratched, my leg getting awesomely bruised, and my bed being fantastically comfortable and Swedishly colorful. But they all make for more interesting stories than the other options, which are much more normal happenings.

"I went to Maui to stay a week and remained five"-S.C.

So Tyler is making a point to prove how cultured he is through book and movie reviews. I thought I could do the same. But I should probably make a disclaimer that I'm not very critical of things like movies, even if they are just not that good. So... it probably won't be that interesting, but oh well. But here goes:

As I was walking home in the icy cold snow the other day, my mind wandered to a warmer time. Balmy air laced with tropical scents, the buzzing of a few harmless island insects, in the distance the rhythmic waves crashed, time seems to move slower, and everyone moves along with it. I sat in a cool, air-conditioned room with a skirt and flip flops, and my hair loosely braided. Although indoors, the scent of the air was still distinctly tropical, Pacific. This was Hawaii. During Spring, for my Pacific Regionalism class, we were asked to read the book "The Paradise Conspiracy" by the good sir Ian Wishart. I couldn't check it out, so I had to visit the library and sit and read it there, but somehow, that was suiting. But anyway, about the book: it's a true story about tax fraud in New Zealand and an investigative journalist (Wishart) who seeks the shady truth. The book reads well, although the convoluted jargon is at times hard to follow for someone who knows very little regarding the subject matter, such as myself. The whole idea is very romantic: small tax havens on islands like Cook Islands and big business scams sucking millions, if not billions, of NZ$ from the Queen's good Island to ciphon it off into their own pockets. The story is filled with twists, villains, lies, deceit, money, conspiracy (duh), murder, blackmailing, and of course, beautiful tropical paradises in which all of these escapades may take place. I don't know if I would have appreciated this book as much out of the context of Hawaii, but if one ever finds oneself on a tropical isle with a free afternoon, I would suggest picking it up.
On a related note, I really think there is something so fantastic about reading a book related to the place one is. That is why, should anyone be in Hawaii, or at the very least itching to get over there, they should pick up "Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii." There's not much to say; it's Mark Twain. He's simply charming, in a witty, forward sort of way. He's a romantic at heart as well, and beautifully paints his experience with words. It was like he knew what I was thinking about my time in Hawaii (both good and bad) and put it in words so perfect that I could have never done the task myself, but needed to employ the good man Samuel Clemens to help me out. Reading this outside on the beach, or a bench during a light tropical storm was just perfect. So I think both these books are excellent for travel, or simply for a cold winter when one longs for humid beaches, crystal clear waters, and a good pineapple drink. Ah, reminiscing.
And now, back to writing my paper on the structural geology of the Bridal Veil Falls fold in Provo Canyon...

Oh the weather outside is frightful

Yesterday, to mark the first day of December, there was a blizzard. Of course. I woke up and looked out my window, like I do every morning to check on the weather, and out of nowhere everything was blanketed in a thick layer of white. It snowed almost constantly for most of the day. I was foolish to think it wouldn't come by December. I mean, December, of COURSE it's going to snow. Since I got punked on the parking pass situation, my car is parked above ground, and it took like, 15 minutes to scrape off the powder. The thing is, powder is pretty easy to scrape off; it's the ice, I soon learned, that causes the real problems. The highlight of the snow experience culminated in me trying to put some cheese Tyler gave me into my car while our pizza was cooking. I went out with the cheese, unlocked my door, and pulled the handle. It didn't budge so I figured I'd pressed the wrong button on my remote, which is not outside of the realm of possibilities. I tried the other; no movement. I strained to read in the dark which was which and pressed "disarm" (which translates to "unlock," crazy Japanese cars). I pulled and pulled and pulled some more. It dawned on me. My car door was frozen shut. Frozen shut. I used my numb and throbbing fingers to pry off the ice-snow and breathed on the door frame. Yeah, I know, but I didn't know what else to do. I pulled and pulled and pulled and worried that my door handle would break off before the ice did. Then I noticed the huge icicle chunks hanging at the bottom of my car. I kicked them off and pulled and pulled and pulled again. Still nothing. So I repeated the pulling process. FINALLY the door crunched open, the sound of crushing ice echoing in the empty night. Unreal. I was not anticipating that battle, nor would I ever have thought that something like that happens in real life. On the upside, I'm getting better at driving on icy roads. By getting better, I mean I still drive about 5 mph, but I don't get hysterical that I'm going to slide off the road. Anyway, that's the weather update. Welcome to December.

The Season for Giving Thanks

So I guess I'm a little behind on the blogging. People have been getting on my case about not posting pictures too, so here:

1. This is the Tylers, not wanting their picture taken, in the cozy-plush lodge.
2. This is Tyler and I having a log-pillow fight in the robes from the rooms. It was pretty evenly matched. It's hard to tell from the picture. I took some pretty hard hits to the head and stomach, but in the end, I knew my brother could wrestle him and render him helpless if necessary.
3. Taking a "hike" wearing hats. I really wanted to go on a good, real hike, but no one thought hiking and Thanksgiving in the mountains were associated, so I settled for a stroll around the streets.
4. Tyler is enjoying the beauty of Lake Arrowhead and its resident ducks. It was very very freezing and windy this day.
5. Tyler, being his classy self.

Well, there you have it, dear family and friends. Pictures. From Thanksgiving. Boy, that took it out of me; it makes me not want to write those annoying words that my sister finds so useless on a blog. So you can just enjoy the pictures from your sister that is less important than the dog, eating food, and yachting, Megan. Megan, with the cold, frozen heart.
Also, for other pictures, see everyone else's blogs.

GSA-Geek Squad America

As I come to the close of my first experience at a geological conference, I must reflect on the many things I've seen and learned:

1. Soil scientists don't even hold a candle to geologists. There was a soil science technology booth at the expo next to the BYU booth and the guys (but mostly just one specifically) were WEIRD. And considering I'm at a geology conference, that's saying a lot.

2. Denver is host to a veritable cornucopia of diverse multi-cultural cuisines. Although I personally stuck to the traditionals (Hard Rock Cafe, The Cheesecake Factory, Sam's no. 3, Tokyo Joe's, etc.), a few BYU staff members have developed an affinity for Moroccan food. The nightly belly dancing has nothing to do with it... so I hear...

3. The U.S. Mint is cool, and gives out free pennies, and has never been robbed, and has its gift shop in a double-wide trailer a few feet away. Also, in the spirit of capitalism and not Andrew Mellon, the government is encouraging more coin collecting and is coming out with a line of $1 coins of all 37 dead presidents. They must be dead, sorry Bill. Additionally, in a few years will be a new line of pennies depicting four of President Lincoln's finest moments. On behalf of the U.S. Mint and the U.S. government, I would also like to take this time to explain that the phrase "In God We Trust" will still be on the presidential dollars, but on the edge. This will draw more people to look at it and reflect on religiosity because it is a novelty to find the hidden message. That is all.

4. The squirrels at the Colorado capitol building are HUGE!

5. Not a lot of geologists dressed up for Halloween. :(

6. But there was a lot of useless free stuff at the Expo! :)

7. Despite the deficit of victories in the Denver sports scene, fans are still loyal and selling World Series paraphernalia... for 75% off.

8. I met some people from NASA and the Smithsonian and other sundry areas that are researching something that can be coupled with the poster I presented and they were so nice! And people don't care if you don't 100% understand your research, so long as you smile and say things like "Well of course there is still so much more work to be done. These are just our preliminary conclusions, and hopefully as technologies advance, we'll have more accurate data and see more evidenciary support for our work... No, I'm still an undergrad."

9. Staying on the "Fun and Games" floor makes a world of difference. When the elevator is constantly inviting you to "come on down, you're on the fun and games floor!" it's hard not to get excited that you'll be walking away with a free washing machine or something.

10. When I first arrived in Denver, I thought it was pretty cut-and-dry as far as deciphering between the geologists, the baseball fans, and the locals. When someone I shared an elevator with asked if I was here for GSA, I didn't know if I should be mildly offended or relieved.

Overall, I've thoroughly enjoyed Denver. Some of the nicest guys are the ones with ponytails. I have seen more piercings here than I have in potentially the last 21 years of my life, which is all of it. But I definitely see the appeal of the mile-high city. I guess any large city would have similar appeal, but I'm not really familiar with them. But what's not to love? Four major sports teams (baseball, basketball, football and hockey), decent shopping, lots of food, mountains, public transit, and government buildings. Denver and I, we're friends. At the very least, acquaintances for now.

Welcome to Rocktober

Well, here I've found myself in the very heart of downtown Denver, arriving the same day as countless Sox and Rocks fans are flooding the mile-high city. The city is literally shrouded in a purple haze, as buildings are lighting up their facades with the Colorado team color. Thank goodness they're not sell-outs like the D-backs who now don red instead of purple and teal, or else there would be serious loyalty confusion. But I digress.

There is something that is so unique about being in a city while the World Series is going on there. Everyone was wearing purple. Everyone had Rockies paraphernalia. Every street was decked out with signs supporting the humble team. It was a truly beautiful thing. Now, I'm not intrinsically a Rockies fan. I'm going to be perfectly honest when I say I know very little about the National League in general. But the Red Sox swept the Angels and also spend more money than said team, so go Rockies! Also, for the first three years or so of my little brother's Little League career, he played on the Rockies, so I feel completely justified in my support. However, should Boston win, eh, no biggie. I just love the reaction of the home town when their team wins and that would be a fabulous thing to experience here.

Last night, my geology buddies and I tried to hit up a rustic-looking, authentic pub (because oh yeah, I'm 21 and I could go to one of those now). It was packed to the gills with Rockies fans, so we found a Denny's-esque diner instead. The good news is that sports pub or not, everyone everywhere is showing the game. I love baseball. If the Rockies can just win tonight to take it to a 5-game series, I will be so happy, because let's face it, no right-minded BYU student is going to go to a sports bar on a Sunday, regardless of choice of food. And there's an ESPNzone that would make an excellent choice for a Monday night game-viewing location... So go CO!

Perhaps I'm just nostalgic of that wonderful 2002 postseason, when the Angels took it all the way and sent Barry home crying, to take more steroids and regain the spotlight 4 and a half years later as home run king*. But there is nothing like the World Series, and although Denver is certainly no OC, it's a pretty decent city, and they've brought their A-game in supporting this miracle of a late-bloomer team. What better time to have to go to a rock conference than when the Rockies are strutting their stuff? I can think of none.