Friends, this election season has been the worst of my relatively long lifetime.  I first voted in 1982, so I have some experience.

I would venture to say that very few of the permabloggers at M* voted for Trump.  I would also venture to say, based on the comments we get on this blog, that most readers also did not vote for Trump.  I did not vote for him.

But he is the president-elect, and it is time to consider what he would actually do in office. Here is a quick analysis.  I am sure there will be other analyses, but my feeling is that few people have actually considered what Trump has said he will do.  I will grade his plans based on my opinions of them.  If you don’t like my opinions, you can politely disagree or you can go write a post stating your own opinions.

But first, let’s consider how Trump in the White House might affect the Church.  Mormons did not support him in large numbers compared to Republican candidates of the recent past, although most Mormon dominant states did vote for him.  My guess is that Trump will treat the Church much like other recent presidents, ie, respectfully.  But I am willing to be proven wrong, and we at M* will be on the lookout for evidence of Trump administration bigotry toward Mormons.

So here goes, an analysis of Trump’s plans:

Continue reading →

Our favorite president of all helped produce this statement:

We congratulate President-elect Donald Trump on his election as president of the United States.

We invite Americans everywhere, whatever their political persuasion, to join us in praying for the president-elect, for his new administration and for elected leaders across the nation and the world. Praying for those in public office is a long tradition among Latter-day Saints. The men and women who lead our nations and communities need our prayers as they govern in these difficult and turbulent times.

We also commend Secretary Hillary Clinton and all those who engaged in the election process at a national or local level. Their participation in our democratic process, by its nature, demands much of those who offer themselves for public service. May our local and national leaders reflect the best in wisdom and judgment as they fulfill the great trust afforded to them by the American people.

Just keep in mind what it is all really about:

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39

As we await the closing of polls across the Nation, you might be interested in Eric James Stone’s discussion of unlikely but possible outcomes for the presidential race.

[Image used by a scammer in “friend” requests]

Over the past years posting here at M*, I have been perplexed by those unwilling to consider the facts I am bringing forward. From time to time I wander across a thread elsewhere on the Internet where I am specifically derided.

In one thread, I recently saw that I had written that perhaps this opposition was for my experience and would prove to be for my good.

Little did I anticipate how my new “muscles” developed in discussing truth despite derision would serve. Bottom line: those you love can believe a lie no matter how hard you try to lovingly persuade them it is a dangerous error.

The Scam

I have a relative who lives alone. Let me call them Riley.[ref]I use the name Riley because it is the androgynous name with the highest ranking for both males and females.[/ref] Riley shared holidays with my family. When it snowed, we would shovel Riley’s driveway.

About a year ago we became aware Riley was making friends on the Internet. Except some of the friends turned out to be dishonest. We showed Riley how to block unwanted callers and thought we were done.

Riley was in the habit of coming to our house to print things. So we noticed when Riley wanted to print something about accepting a gold shipment. The associated information was classic scam:  “I have inherited gold mine in Africa. Need assistance. Send money.” Continue reading →