Since California’s Proposition 8 passed, gay advocates have accused Christian groups of hate, hypocrisy, intolerance, misinformation, violating equal rights, and of not supporting the separation of church and state.

It seems the pot is calling the kettle black.

This YouTube.com video clip shows gay advocates berating and intimidating an elderly lady in Palm Springs, California, peacefully bearing a cross. This YouTube video clip shows an outrageous scene at the LDS Temple in West Hollywood, California.

The disappointment of anti-Proposition 8ers is understandable, after all it was a hard fought and emotionally charged issue.  However, it’s also safe to say that gay rights advocates have definitively and irreversibly forfeited any pretense of tolerance, rightness, and moral superiority on this issue.

The great philosopher, anonymous, once said, “What you say about others says something about yourself as well.

In fact, perhaps nothing is as revealing of a person’s character as how they respond to setbacks; that’s when people’s true colors show through.

The Mormon Church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) in particular has been the target of vicious retaliation by enraged gay rights advocates. In addition to condemning LDS Church members in the media, over the Internet, and face to face, all over the country LDS buildings are being vandalized, and white powder is being mailed to places like the Salt Lake Temple in Utah, and the Los Angeles Temple in California, and at least 1 white powder mailing, earlier this year to FBI offices Salt Lake City, included hate letters.

Prior to the passing of Proposition 8, LDS Church leaders took great care to instruct its believers to treat others with civility and respect. Likewise, after the passing of Proposition 8, the LDS Church issued the following statement:

“Most likely, the election results for these constitutional amendments will not mean an end to the debate over same-sex marriage in this country.

“We hope that now and in the future all parties involved in this issue will be well informed and act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility toward those with a different position.   No one on any side of the question should be vilified, intimidated, harassed or subject to erroneous information.”

Curiously, the popular search engine, Google, does not include lds.org in its search results for this quote, even though it is clearly and prominately posted on lds.org. Google instead only lists several news agencies that carried the quote. Yahoo’s search engine, by the way, with the same search criteria, lists lds.org no problem. That is especially interesting given that Google’s founders are famously liberal Californians who personally donated six-figure contritutions to the effort to defeat Proposition 8. Likewise, Google’s  executives and employees are overwhelmingly Democrat-leaning, with  98% of their political contributions during the last campaign going to one party. Additionally, Google has a controversial history of purging conservative leaning websites from search results. Likewise, conservative groups have complained that Google censors their advertisements as well.  Google, of course, has no problem serving up other “constitutionally protected free speech” such as pornography, liberal ideologies, or how to make a bomb for that matter.

The whole world knows that had California’s proposition 8 failed, LDS Church leaders would not have organized protests in front of gay bars, nor would they have resorted to the acrimony, labeling and hate-mongering that we are seeing from those who did lose.

And while gay rights advocates may yet vilify, bully and manipulate their way into overturning proposition 8, they cannot change the unimpeachable fact that marriage is not theirs to define.

What shockingly few people seem to understand is that marriage is not a right, nor is it a government entitlement. Marriage is a religious practice. It always has been.

Secular doctrine teaches that mankind evolved from animals, some of which mate for life but none of which marry. It is RELIGIOUS doctrine that conceived of marriage.

Religion, including the institution of marriage, seriously predates the founding of this country and its constitution. Marriage is by no means a U.S. government institution, nevertheless, it has long been the object of a hostile takeover.

The nation George Washington governed recognized Martha as his wife, but their marriage would be illegal in the nation George Bush governs!

When our nation was born, marriage was a religious rite that didn’t concern the government. Then, in the 1800s, states began passing laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Eventually, they allowed interracial marriage, but only with a government issued license, hence the birth of the American marriage license.

That’s right. Ironically, from the very beginning, the reason government was involved in marriage at all was as a means to discriminate against some people.

For untold centuries, marriage survived without controversy as a religious institution. It was the secular hijacking of marriage by the United States government that started our current conflict.

The Federal Uniform Marriage and Marriage License Act of 1923 prompted every state in the Union to adopt marriage license laws, perhaps the largest invasion of religious rights by “the state” in the history of the United States.

During the Great Depression, the U.S. Government became intensely interested in taxing incomes, and income taxes differentiated between single Americans and married couples. Likewise, the Norris Laguardia Act of 1932 gave power to organized labor, leading to employer’s benefits which likewise treated married people differently. Little by little, for monetary reasons (the root of all evil?), the Federal Government co-opted marriage from religion.

And as the great philosopher, Ringo Starr, once said, “Everything the government touches turns to crap.”

But while the United States may have tied taxes and other things to marital status, constitutional constraints forbid the government from annexing religion and its practices as its own. To do so would violate the First Amendment of the Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Like it or not, marriage is and always has been a religious practice, not a government program, entitlement or right, therefore it is not a voter’s prerogative to define it.

This is not a matter of homophobia, hate, intolerance, hypocrisy, or any of the other labels the spin doctors are using. It is simply a matter of fact.

Marriage is and has always been, since long before the United States was born, a religious rite, not a constitutional right.

Consequently, what gay advocates are demanding with marriage is that government elections should be used to tell religions what their doctrines and practices should be. Could there be a more blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution?

The fact that so many people could with such brashness and indignation insist that government seize for its own the free exercise of religion is a testament to just how powerful the forces against religion in this country really are.

Civil unions may well be a protected right of all people, but marriage certainly is not.

In fact, to insist otherwise is, to borrow the labels and rhetoric of the opponents of Proposition 8, blatant “bigotry and intolerance” … of the rights of religious peoples.

But if the day ever comes when the free exercise of religion falls victim to populist political pressures, I seriously doubt you will see the LDS Prophet, the Catholic Pope and Protestant Clergy on Google’s YouTube website berating and intimidating little old ladies in front of gay bars… further illustrating that, in more ways than one, gay rights advocates are just flat wrong on this issue.

I have been astounded by the subtle and not so subtle disparagement of Sarah Palin in the national press. If Sarah really was unworthy of the office of Vice President of the United States, then why is she worthy of so much effort to try and convince us all of that?

The democrats have been making the rounds in an obviously choreographed effort to make people think Palin was shrill in her acceptance speech. But as an independent who saw her speech last night, and who has been following the coverage of the Palin speech since, the only shrillness I hear comes from the left.

And speaking of the left, is this the best they can do? No wonder democrats like to use the word “desperate” a lot.

Can you imagine that a POSER like Barack Obama, with his make believe presidential seal, could be 60 days away from the presidency, much less a heartbeat?

If Obama has so much political experience, then why is America much more aware of his speeches than his portfolio of reforms? Apparently Obama measures experience by the number of words spoken, not the number of actions taken.

What has Obama done for the state of Illinois? And what has he done since becoming a US Senator, other than promote himself?

Obama’s circular logic had him on TV the other day claiming he was qualified to be president, because he’s run a presidential campaign.

Uh, okay. And what exactly does Obama “campaign manager” David Plouffe do again? Bring his Poser-ness his morning coffee?

Barack Obama is a self absorbed narcissist, who has written more about himself than he has for his constituents in Illinois.

Obama is a made for TV candidate in the age of American Idol. And obviously, American Idol has a lot of fans.

Not only is Barack Obama not qualified to lead this country, he’s not even qualified to claim to know “what the American people want.”

Exactly when did Obama qualify himself to be so in touch with Americans?

Was it his $4 million income last year from writing books about himself that gives him his gift with the common person?

Was it his underage drinking in high school?

Was it his marijuana and cocaine use as an adult?

Is it his Harvard law degree that makes Obama think he is so in touch with what Americans want?

Or is it the $1.65 million house he lives in, purchased in league with a campaign campaign contributor who at the time was “under scrutiny for alleged political corruption.”

Barack Obama is a self absorbed narcissist who does more for the advancement of his career than for those he was elected to serve.

Obama supporters should be embarrassed, and find themselves a real candidate instead of the Harvard Law cardboard cut out.

Palin exposed just what a poser Barack Obama really is in her speech last night, and Joe Biden is next.

If you weren’t excited about McCain, at least Palin is someone you can genuinely be excited about, assuming you aren’t too proud to admit you were wrong about Obama.

While the rest of the United States scrambles to figure out who on earth Sarah Palin is, Joe Biden is about to find out what us Alaskans have known for years:

Sarah Palin chews up and spits out good ole boys (like Senator Biden) like last year’s moose jerky.

Sarah Palin handily defeated an incumbent governor in the primaries, Frank Murkowski. Remember, Murkowski, like Joe Biden, was a US Senator, but he couldn’t come close to standing up to Sarah.

Sarah’s appointment is certainly a great moment for women in politics, as it is for Alaskans, whose congregational delegation is a whopping 3 people, but whether or not America has figured it out, the Republicans finally have a Reagan Republican on the ticket: cut spending, cut waste, strong military, energy indepence, etc., plus she is environmentally friendly.

The only way this could be better would be if she was at the TOP of the ticket!

Jessica gave birth to twin girls at 3:09 a.m. this morning, Mother’s Day (11 May 08).

On Wednesday, May 7, 2008, the day of her baby shower (and the day after Karl and Jessica’s 3rd anniversary), Jessica went into labor. The next several days were spent in relative boredom at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, trying to avoid giving birth at just 30 weeks.

But Jess got sick, and Saturday night her coughing may have triggered things because her water broke. Before long, a foot appeared!

Both babies were breech, so a “c-section” was performed, and at 3:09 (then again at 3:10 a.m.), Karl and Jess were parents.

Camille was born first (3:09 a.m.). She weighed 3 lbs., 8 oz (1605 grams), and was 16 inches long (40 cm).

Shaylee was born second (3:10 a.m.). She weighed 3 lbs., 4 oz (1480 grams), and was 16.5 inches long (42 cm).

Mom is fine but very tired.

The twins are in intensive care right now. They are so skinny but are doing well.

At a time like this, it is hard not to be so grateful for our Heavenly Father’s goodness to us. What a blessing to live in a time and place where our granddaughters can have such assistance as they start off their new lives here on earth. They were born 11 weeks early.

That makes May a busy party month for the Johnsons: Karl’s birthday, their anniversary, Mother’s Day, and now the twins’ birthday.

Thanks to everyone worldwide for your prayers and kind words.

I’m not saying Tom was excited, but he wore two signs (one in the front, one in the back) all through church.

To cycle through the photos, find the gold coloured arrows at the bottom, right-hand corner of the photobox.

Click to see the next photo in the album.Click to see the previous photo in the album.

Click to view all the photos as an automatic slide show (photo changes every 5 seconds).

PAMELIA J. FERGUS PITTMAN

Pamelia Pittman died September 14, 2006 in Milbridge, Maine. She suffered a stroke and died peacefully in her own room with her daughter Patricia in attendance. Pamelia will be missed and remembered for her beautiful, sincere smile, her loving, generous and gracious countenance and her intelligent outlook.

She was born in Lewistown, MT to Andrew and Hazel (Akeley) Fergus, June 2, 1914. She was a grand daughter of Montana Pioneer James Fergus. While she spent most of her growing up years attached to the family ranch at Armells, she attended most of her school through high school in Lewistown. After high school she continued studies in Seattle, WA, returning to attend the University of Montana, Missoula. There she pursued a degree in Library Science, leaving in 1936 to be joined in marriage with Tom L. Pittman, also of Lewistown. Their first home was close to the historic Kendall town site, where her husband was manager of the North Moccasin Mines Syndicate’s gold operation.

With the advent of World War II the family lived in Niehart, MT, Cooke City, MT, and Nevada. War’s end found them in Republic, WA. During their twelve years there, Pam joined with other volunteers to pioneer the establishment of the Republic City Library. She earned her private pilot license, and she also clocked a record number of ‘Sky Watch’ hours during the early phase of the Cold War, giving low-level support to the area’s Air Force radar station.

After moving to Juneau, AK in 1957 Pamelia worked as the children’s librarian at the Juneau Library, introducing many young people to the joys of reading and researching. She enjoyed Alaska life, and continued to participate in skiing, hiking, Girl Scouts and other volunteer work. She moved to Maine in 1998 to live near her daughter, Patricia (Mrs. Sune Noreen). Dictated by a moderate decline in health she moved to a Senior Residence at Milbridge, ME where she lived for the past 11 months.

Pamelia was pre-deceased by her husband, Tom L. Pittman, Sr. and is survived by son Tom L. Pittman, Jr. of Juneau, AK, daughters Pamelia Elizabeth Stennis of Whidbey Is., WA and Patricia Noreen of Jonesport, ME, sister Agnes Fergus Miedema, of Lewistown and brother Andrew J. Fergus, of Albany, OR, and 14 grand children and several great grand children.

According to her wishes her ashes will be spread over Pittman Ridge above Juneau, Alaska’s ski area.

Saturday, May 6, 2006. Today my eldest daughter became someone else’s girl.

I knew this day would come. Over the years I would sometimes think about this day, usually as I watched other people marry off their daughters. But for the most part, I tried not to think about it. I didn’t want to think about it. How could I? I used to miss her when I left the house to play basketball with the guys for a few hours, how much would I miss her when she leaves to play house with a guy forever?

No matter how hard I tried not to think about this day though, still, today was nothing like I ever thought it would be.

Of the countless memories I share with this precious person, tonight one stands out.

Jessica, Tommy, Caleb and I were pushing a shopping cart through Costco in Anchorage when we came upon a former coworker. This person had deliberately harmed me in a very serious way with false accusations, but when I saw her, I had honestly forgotten that momentarily. I approached this former coworker with a warm, friendly greeting. The woman was clearly shocked then apprehensive, and that is when I remembered what she had done to me.

Our conversation was nice but brief, and when the woman was out of earshot, the kids asked me who she was. When I told them, I saw three different reactions on the faces of my three children.

Caleb looked surprised and then slightly scared, and looked at the woman as if to make sure she were moving away from us.

Tommy’s look was one of unrestrained admiration and he said, “Wow! I can’t believe you were nice to her!”

Jessica though, she looked mad at me. “I can’t believe you, dad!” she said, “I could never forgive someone who did that to me.”

I said that I hope she was wrong about that.

I have always tried to teach my children the importance of forgiveness, both by word and by example. However, I’m pretty sure my children have no idea how hard that has been at times for me. Maybe because, so far, I have been successful at forgiving others, they think it is always an easy thing for me. I wish that were true.

Many are the nights where rest never came, where all the injustice of my life erupted like lava inside me and flowed from my eyes and down my face for hours, only to subside then erupt again. Of the trials we face in life, few are as lonely as being falsely accused. Everyone smugly rushes to believe that “where there is smoke, there is fire,” even when we all know that just “friction” can produce smoke as well.

But you have to forgive those who wrong you, and those who judge you for your supposed sins.

“Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.

“I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.

“And ye ought to say in your hearts—let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds.” (D&C 64:8-11.)

A lot gets said about the importance of unconditional love in relationships. Not enough gets said about unconditional forgiveness. Then again, what is unconditional love, if it isn’t forgiveness?

As Latter-day Saints, we need to remember that the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, doesn’t just wash us from our sins, it washes those who have wronged us from their sins as well.

On this, her wedding day, I think back to some of the hard learned lessons I have learned about marriage and wonder if there is anything more important I could have taught my daughter than forgiveness, and I wonder if she has grown enough now to never tell herself she couldn’t forgive someone.

In an imperfect world, it is just a matter of time before imperfect people behave imperfectly. Without forgiveness, you cannot keep a relationship alive and healthy. And without a true and complete humility, you cannot truly and completely forgive.

Anyway, as my mind keeps chasing sleep from me tonight, I guess I find myself fixing potholes on Memory Lane. Was I a good enough dad? Even as she becomes someone else’s girl, I want my baby girl back.

Today is one of the happiest days of my life, even if I don’t know it yet.

I love you, Jessica Rose Johnson.

(From Blog907.net)

The Governor of AncMatSu, Alaskette

The great philosopher, Anonymous, once said, “No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.” If we who live in the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough aren’t careful, we could easily harm Alaska overall by thinking only of ourselves.

The Anchorage Daily News reported yesterday that Sarah Palin will seek the Republican nomination for governor of Alaska in 2006.

There is an old saying about not biting the hand that feeds you.

A person who plans to pursue politics as a profession pretty much needs the backing of one of the two major political parties to pull it off. Although there are 57 political parties in America at last count, of the 50 state governors in place today, 22 are Democrats and 28 are Republicans. For those of us who weren’t math majors, that’s all 50 states.

So unless you are willing to gain fortune and name recognition by dressing in speed-os and pretending to wrestle grown men (like Jesse Ventura did), you really had better be in good standing with either the Republican or the Democratic parties.

That being the case, I admire Sarah Palin for her courage to publicly stand against the ethical abuses of Republican Party of Alaska Chairman Randy Ruedrich, and former state Attorney General Gregg Renkes. [Stay tuned for a blog entry on how the Republican Party of Alaska has lost its soul -- and my membership.]

I like Sarah a lot. But I don’t know that I would vote for her.

Sarah Palin supports moving the legislature to Anchorage from Juneau — at least part time. While that probably draws applause in Anchorage and the Matsu Borough, “AncMatSu,” it draws groans from the rest of Alaska. There is something a large number of the residents of AncMatSu just doesn’t get yet.

In a poignant scene in the movie, Gandhi, Gandhi tells India’s political heavyweights that they gather and make passionate speeches, but the speeches are for themselves; the whole of India is largely unaffected. Gandhi then points out that India isn’t the concentration of people in New Delhi or Bombay, it is a huge, wondrous, vast country and all its inhabitants.

Likewise, Alaska is not the concentration of people in Anchorage or the Matsu Valley.

A Tlingit Elder once told me, “Anchorage is not Alaska. Anchorage is a nest of lower 48ers who come to Alaska but want to make it look, smell and feel like where they came from.”

That is probably true. If Anchorage is all you have seen of Alaska, then chances are you have seen more of McDonalds, Fred Meyer, Costco, Walmart, Taco Bell, Nordstrom’s, REI, ski resorts and hotel chains than you have the things that Alaska is famous for. Like most Anchoragans, even most of the Alaska souvenirs that you can buy in Anchorage are imports.

Anchorage is 1,956 sq. miles (Portage to Eklutna). The Matsu Borough is 25,000 square miles. Combined, that puts the size of AncMatSu at 26,956 square miles. Alaska is 656,425 square miles in size, meaning AncMatSu is just 4 percent of Alaska. Four percent!

The problem is, this 4 percent area plainly wants to dominate the political machines of the state so as to further benefit this more populated Alaskette, even if it comes at the expense of sparsely populated Alaska.

About 331,000 of Alaska’s 655,435 people, or 50.5 percent of the people of Alaska, live in the 4 percent area of AncMatSu, Alaskette. I am one of them. I live over 10 miles out of downtown Eagle River, next to the Eagle River Nature Center. My nearest neighbor, if we don’t count the near daily moose and occasional bears we see out our windows, is acres from me. And like many AncMatSuians, while my freezer may be full of fish, my cupboards are bursting with oversized packages from Sam’s Club and Costco. And yes, my trash contains an occasional sack from McDonalds or Taco Bell.

The great philosopher, Anonymous, once said, “No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.” If we who live in the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough aren’t careful, we could easily harm Alaska overall by thinking only of ourselves.

Politically speaking, the majority in AncMatSu is so powerful that if it doesn’t want something to happen, no matter how good it is for someplace else in the state, it just isn’t going to happen. However, for AncMatSu to tell Bethel how their area should be run is exactly akin to Los Angeles telling Anchorage how it should be run. Communities outside AncMatSu are different groups of people with starkly different needs, and we shouldn’t be able to bully anyone in Alaska just because we are bigger than they are.

Because of the tremendous population distribution disparity in this state, if the right thing for Alaska is to ever get done, it is going to take a lot of us who live in AncMatSu to put the interests of the state as a whole ahead of our personal or local interests. We need to acknowledge that we are our brothers’ keeper.

Economically speaking, Juneau is to Southeast Alaska as Anchorage is to Southcentral Alaska. And just as Anchorage is the transportation hub for most of Alaska, Juneau is the transportation hub for Southeast Alaska. Juneau, and all of Southeast Alaska, needs to keep the center of state government to keep that area economically sound.

Which brings me to the real reason to move the capital.

For all the academic and philosophical arguments for moving the capital, the practical reality is that AncMatSu gets plenty from the Alaska’s political system, even though the capital is in far away Juneau.

The truth is, AncMatSu land and business owners stand to benefit immeasurably more by a capital move than the typical Alaskan citizen would. Capital move proponents are pirates, flying the innocent flag of government access over a vessel full of drooling businessmen dreaming of the treasures they might loot from their brothers to the southeast. Moving the capital will without question devastate economies in Southeast Alaska.

Does it make sense to harm a large part of Alaska in order to benefit a part of Alaska that is already doing better than any other part of the state?

Only greed could make a person answer yes.

While moving legislative sessions from Juneau to Anchorage might be good for the concentration of people who live in AncMatSu, Alaskette, it absolutely would be bad for Alaska. The issue should be dropped once and for all and our attentions put to more worthwhile efforts.

India is not just New Delhi and Bombay. Alaska is not just Anchorage and the Matsu. Government is not just for the urbanites.

Sarah had the courage to put the interests of Alaska ahead of those of her political party. However, until Sarah does it again and puts the interests of all Alaska ahead of her local AncMatsu constituents, I’ll be holding out, hoping for a gubernatorial candidate for ALL Alaska.

On the other hand, I’d be thrilled if the Republican ethical champion, Sarah Palin, reconsidered her position on moving the legislature.

I hear two complaints about our family website, Pittmans.net.

The first is from the kids. They want to be able to post stuff on the website themselves without waiting for dad.

The second is from family and friends around the world who want Pittmans.net to be updated more frequently.

By taking advantage of Wordpress blogging software, the JOURNAL portion of Pittmans.net will:

o Be updated MUCH more frequently than before
o Be updated by any member of the Pittman family who has something to share, particularly the children
o Be able to share written text, photos and video

and all this without taking up parents’ time!

I’m sure this site will evolve as we go, but for now, I present you with our Pittman Family Journal 1.0.