Friday 27 July 2012

mormon on faith-based council

i'm really happy that today the white house announced the first mormon had been appointed to the president's council for faith-based and neighborhood partnerships.   i'm also happy that is is steve snow.  a man who is dedicated to truth, history, and humility.

it should be noted that there are more mormons than jews in america today.

raam canaan shared at a recent pew forum:
To conclude, we found a group of people that are most generous in our society. Through their theology of obedience and sacrifice and strong commitment to tithing and service, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints are the most pro-social members in American society. We couldn’t believe the findings. But that’s what we have. Thank you.
it is long over-due that mormons let go of their low self-esteem and stand up for what we believe and that the american people realize that mormons have been some of their best neighbors.

i wonder if this is the first step in helping the faith move away from trying to hide behind the christian right and take its place as a voice of the voiceless and a peculiar people:  i sure hope so ...


Obama names first Mormon to faith-based council
First Published 7 hours ago • Updated 28 minutes ago
Washington • President Barack Obama has appointed the first Mormon official to serve on a White House advisory council that seeks to improve partnerships between religious groups and the federal government to help deliver social services to the needy.
Obama this week named Steven E. Snow, a member of the LDS Church First Quorum of the Seventy, as a member of the president’s advisory council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Snow will join leaders of various religions and religious groups.
     
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"I am proud that such experienced and committed individuals have agreed to serve the American people in these important roles," Obama said in announcing the appointment of Snow and other officials to White House boards. "I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead."
Snow would be the first Mormon to serve on the council.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, praised the president for the nomination of Snow.
"Elder Snow has provided dedicated service to the Church and I know he will serve as a valuable member of the President’s advisory council," Hatch, a Mormon, said. "The faith-based office is made up of leaders of religions from across our great country, and Elder Snow’s appointment ensures that the LDS faith will have a seat at the table."
Snow is the executive director of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ history department and has been a member of the church’s Quorum of the Seventy since 2001.

Monday 16 July 2012

fascinating womanhood documentary

i'm honored to have known this woman.  i'm also honored to say that she kicked me off dinner table  for talking about farting at the dinner table.

i can't wait to see this documentary.

Saturday 14 July 2012

dear bloomberg business week

my friend is trying to decide if she should send this to bloomberg.   she is afraid she might be excommunicated if she shares these concerns publically.  she thought it might feel good to test the waters here and see if there was support for this idea.

so ... do you agree that we should ask the church to make a full accounting of the finances of the church?  should an independent auditing firm be aloud to determine how much money the church has, where it comes from, where it goes, and how things are decided.  is that something that only a few should know, or should the whole body know?  i think that is her primary question... but she doesn't feel like she has permission to ask.

she doesn't have permission to ask, but i dont' think you need permission do you?



As a Mormon artist and housewife, I thought I'd drop in my two cents on your recent cover.  

I have to tell you that at first I found the illustration you chose quite shocking.  I felt repulsed and like I was looking at something an angry teenage kid from my hometown would make.  I went deep into some classic art-snobbery to hate on it; and at the same time I had to stop myself and wonder-- is shock not the feeling what they were going for?

That is the beauty of art --- it makes us think on a different level.  (though i wish you would have asked one of these artists for a mock-up too....)  Thank you for being good investigative journalists.  

I'd be a liar if I didn't say I was concerned by what you found-- and that I'd really love for my church to open up their bank accounts and let all of the members of the church see what is going on.  We are all shareholders, aren't we? 

One of our own scriptures states that "...all things shall be done by common consent in the church" (Doctrine & Covenants 26:2).  Why not follow through on that? 

 Only the truth will set you free.

Sister/Elder P
Artist, "housewife", onetime missionary, and continuing Mormon





it should be noted, the original art was done by a devout mormon.  a man who immigrated from denmark to the US because of his faith. (see: The Mormon behind the Bloomberg cover via Deseret News)



should s/he push send?
what do you think? 

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Repeal of ObamaCare Will Imperil Thousands of Arizonian Lives

by Kathleen Sebelius

As the U.S. House prepares to hold another vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act, it's easy to dismiss the effort as political theater. But, for millions of Americans who rely on the law's benefits and protections, the devastating effects of repeal would be all too real.

Here's what repeal would mean in concrete terms for families in Arizona and across the country.

Thanks to the law, all Americans with insurance are now protected from some of the insurance industry's worst abuses, like having their coverage canceled when they get sick just because they made a mistake on an application, or facing a lifetime dollar cap on their benefits. Already, 2.09 million Arizona residents, including 769,000 women and 570,000 children, are free from worrying about lifetime coverage limits.


For people like Judy, a nurse I met who's battling Stage 4 breast cancer, these protections can be the difference between life and death. Judy has good insurance, but her expensive radiation and chemotherapy treatments mean that, without the law, she'd likely hit her lifetime cap in just a few years. For Judy and millions more Americans, repeal would mean a return to knowing they could lose their coverage at any time.

For tens of millions of Americans with health insurance, repeal would also mean paying more for preventive care. Under the law, 54 million people with private health insurance, including 1.06 million in Arizona, can now get free preventive care like vaccinations, check-ups and cancer screenings. Repeal would mean that hundreds of dollars in savings a year could disappear.

For people in communities facing a shortage of doctors and nurses, repeal would make it even harder to get the quality care they need to stay healthy.

Today, the health-care law is building and expanding community health centers in some of America's most medically underserved regions and training thousands of new doctors and nurses who will provide primary care around the country.

Repeal would also take us back to the days when insurance companies were not accountable to anyone.

With the new health law, your insurance company now generally has to spend at least 80 cents of every premium dollar on health care and quality improvements, not CEO salaries or advertising. If they don't, you get a rebate.

This summer, 235,000 Arizona families with private insurance will benefit from an average of $118 in rebates from insurance companies as a result of this new provision.

For seniors, repeal would mean they'd lose free preventive care, like cancer screenings and annual wellness visits now available in Medicare without any co-pay. Millions of seniors who reach the Medicare prescription-drug doughnut hole would also see their 50 percent discount vanish if the health care law was repealed.

Finally, repeal means that millions of Americans would lose their insurance. Three million young adults may not be covered any longer on their parents' health plans, including 69,000 in Arizona. Insurance companies could once again throw children with pre-existing conditions like asthma and diabetes off a family policy, or refuse to cover their illness.

And repealing the health-care law would threaten the lives of 2,748 in Arizona with serious health conditions like cancer who are getting lifesaving care today thanks to a program created by the law.

That's why I invite all Arizonians to go to healthcare.gov and see what repeal of ObamaCare would mean for you, your family, and your State!



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2012/07/10/20120710sebelius0711-repealing-health-care-act-would-imperil-ariz-lives.html#ixzz20JZkHuP4