In December 1989, under the first Pres. Bush, the United States invaded Panama and deposed the thuggish leader, Manuel Noriega. I was a reporter for the Miami Herald at the time and flew to Costa Rica to cover the invasion (flights to Panama were shut down during the invasion).

I crossed the border into Panama right before Christmas on a bus filled with other journalists. As we drove into the northwest Panamanian city of David, people surrounded our bus and cheered. They apparently thought we were part of the invasion force, and the people hated Noriega, and they were ecstatic to see the U.S. get rid of him. We watched as U.S. planes and helicopters landed in David and peacefully took control of the western part of the country. I went with a U.S. general to inspect a barn where Noriega allies had stored thousands of AK-47s.

I then took a taxi to Panama City, stopping along the way at one of Noriega’s homes, which had been attacked by U.S. special forces looking for Noriega. It was a massive mansion, left empty as Noriega fled. I roamed around the house, looking at pictures of Noriega skiing in the Alps with his family, riding horses and boating, an intimate portrait of a wealthy dictator in his personal moments.

Noriega found his way to the Vatican Embassy, where he holed up for several days. Eventually, he surrendered to the U.S. military. He has spent all of his time since then in jails, first in the U.S., then in France and finally back in Panama, where he is incarcerated today, a sad, sick aging tyrant.

I thought of Panama over the weekend as I considered the Russian invasion of Ukraine. U.S. Sect of State Kerry claimed that Russia was acting in a 19th century fashion, invading sovereign countries on trumped-up charges. The hypocrisy of Kerry, who voted for the invasion of Iraq before voting against it, claiming that Russia is acting in a unique way, is absolutely laughable. The United States is launching drone strikes unilaterally in several Middle Eastern countries and is currently occupying Afghanistan. The United States has unilaterally invaded many countries over the years, including the invasion I witnessed with my own eyes, Panama. And by the way, at least 1,000 civilians were killed during the Panamanian invasion, many of them in the fire shown in the picture on this post, which took place in the slums of Panama City and may have been the result of a U.S. bomb.

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Those who believe the sins of Sodom were exclusively sexual sins need to consider this scripture:

Ezekiel 16:49: Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

It is clear from reading the account of Abraham and Lot that Sodom was not all about sexual sin. Lot “pitched his tent toward Sodom,” (Genesis 13:12) a symbol that he favored the things of the world over spiritual matters. Abraham, on the other hand, went to Hebron and immediately built an altar to the Lord (Genesis 13:18).

Over time, it has become clear that Abraham was known for his generosity, his charity and his humility. Lot pitching his tent toward Sodom showed that he did not care that the people of Sodom were unwelcoming, haughty, prideful and uncharitable. We cannot discount the fact that Sodom was evil precisely because the people did not care about the poor and were prideful (just as people in the Book of Mormon were often guilty of the same sin).

But those who would like the sins of Sodom only to be about lack of charity face a conundrum: the scriptures and the teachings of modern-day prophets make it clear that the sins of Sodom were also sexual in nature.

Consider the verse that comes right after Ezekiel 16:49, Ezekiel 16:50:

And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

Yes, the people of Sodom were prideful, but they were also guilty of sexual abominations. The Church Topical Guide references these sins.

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Harold Ramis, the director and actor, has died. He will be remembered a lot for “Ghostbusters,” which was an OK movie, but not nearly as good as the brilliant “Groundhog Day,” which is still one of my favorite movies ever.

Enjoy this review of “Groundhog Day” from 2005. “Groundhog Day” is still the best “Non-Mormon Mormon Movie.”

(Harold Ramis has a cameo as a doctor in “Groundhog Day” by the way).

President Obama famously said “the government is us.”

I don’t think anybody believes this.

Some people might say they believe this when one policy they favor is approved by voters. If you are a tea party supporter, you might have been temporarily cheered during the 2010 elections, or if you wanted Obama to win in 2012, you might say to yourself, “the people have spoken.”

But nobody really believes the government is “us.” The government is almost always “them.”

Skeptical? Think back to World War II. The government (“them”) rounded up Japanese Americans and put them in concentration camps. Was that a government of “us?” How about the many governments of the South that enforced segregation or turned a blind eye to lynchings or fought civil rights in general? Many individual white people in the South, especially business owners who wanted new business, favored integration, but the governments (“them”) prevented it.

Ancient history, you say? What about the NSA spying on all Americans’ phone calls, texts and internet communications? I literally do not know anybody in real life who defends this policy. Everybody I know, from conservative to liberal and all shades of politics in between, finds this extremely alarming. Yet nobody feels like we can do anything about it. “They” are in control. “We” are helpless. This is not a government of “us.”

Here is an easy test to see if you feel like you are in control of your government: how would you feel if you got a call from the IRS? Would you feel uneasy? Would you imagine a painful audit or a pleasant experience? How about being molested by the TSA as you do nothing but take the voluntary action of boarding an airplane? Is that a government of “them” or of “us?”

On a local level, do you really think your local police are concerned about “you” when they set up speed traps? Or are they concerned about raising revenue for “them” and “their” concerns? Speed traps have nothing to do with “protect and serve;” speed traps about about “them” getting away with fleecing you out of $150 (or more) of your hard-earned money.

Now, compare this to your experience at Church.

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If your criteria is following the Constitution and promoting liberty and prosperity, the five best are:

1)George Washington
2)Grover Cleveland
3)Calvin Coolidge
4)James Monroe
5)Ronald Reagan

The five worst are:

36. Jimmy Carter
37. George W. Bush
38. Richard M. Nixon
39. Woodrow Wilson
40. Lyndon B. Johnson

Note: Obama was not in the survey. FDR was number 35.

As something of an amateur historian, I agree wholeheartedly with these results, although I might quibble here and there with some placements. For example, I am not convinced Reagan should be rated above Thomas Jefferson. But in general, yes, this is the way I see things.