Greatest Influence

            We can strengthen our families, communities, and nations by sharing stories from personal and family history. I received a different but interesting and appropriate gift for Mother’s Day. One of my daughters gifted me with a subscription to “StoryWorth.” The idea behind the subscription is for me to write the stories of my life. Each week my daughter will select a question, and the company will email it to me. I am supposed to write the answer to the question and send it back. The company will send the answer to my daughter as well as combining the answers into a book at the end of the year.

            Here is the question for Week 3: Who had the most positive influence on you as a child?

This is an interesting question and one that I have not previously considered. My parents and siblings had a lot of influence for good in my life. However, I feel that I should write about a man who was a member of our ward. Doug and his wife Donna were involved with the youth program. I think that they were the ward dance directors at a time when each ward put on a ward Gold and Green Ball. I was not old enough to go to the dances but heard from my siblings about Doug and Donna and how much fun they had with them. Doug was later a member of the ward bishopric, and he was friendly with everyone.

            Doug’s influence on me came as the school bus driver. My earliest memory came when he drove the bus route at night in order for all the children and their parents to get to the elementary school for the Christmas program. It was so fun to watch for the bus lights to come down the hill to pick us up and to ride the bus with my mother and younger siblings.

            Another experience was track and field day. My older brother Dick had taught me how to pole vault. He gave me a “pole” made from a small tree that was about 10-12 feet long. I wanted to do pole vaulting at school and took my pole to the bus stop. Doug allowed me to slide the pole under the seats to take it to school and again to return home.

            Doug taught me a lesson about integrity while I was still in grade school. One of my friends invited me to go to her house after school the next day, and my mother had given me permission. However, I failed to have my mother write a note to the bus driver. My friend helped me to write a note, and I signed my mother’s name. When it was time to get off the bus at my friend’s house, I handed the note to the bus driver and got off the bus. When we got to school the next day, the bus driver told us to stay on the bus while the other students got off. He told us that he knew that Mom had not written the note. I assured him that I had Mom’s permission, but he did not let it slide. (Did we think that he would not notice the childish writing?) He talked to us about being honest in our dealings and asked us to not pull that trick again. I never did.

            When I was a sophomore in high school I wanted to join the Future Homemakers of America (FHA). As part of the initiation I had to wear a long dress (had to sew a big ruffle on one of my dresses), put baby powder in my hair, wear shoe boxes on my feet, and scrub the steps of the school with a toothbrush. I also had to beg for pennies. My friend Allen told me that he would give me a bunch of pennies (maybe 25-50 – I do not remember) if I would ask Doug to marry me. I went to the front of the bus and kneeled by his seat and proposed to him. I cannot remember if he laughed or if he said yes or no, but whenever he saw me afterwards he would tell me that I was the girl that proposed to him.

            There was another man in our second ward. After our meeting house burned when I was twelve years old, our ward met at a nearby ward building while waiting for a new one to be built for us. About a year after the fire, the ward was divided. Doug’s family and neighbors became part of one ward while the rest of the ward was put in another ward.

            Apparently, my age group was difficult to teach because we went through a number of teachers. We were not bad kids, but we did do a lot of talking and laughing in class. As an adult I understand how such behavior can frustrate a teacher, but I was too self-centered to realize that my class was frustrating teacher after teacher.

            One Sunday a new teacher came to teach our class. He was also new to the ward. I do not remember his name, but I remember that he lived in a tiny house close to the junior high school. On his first Sunday he flatly told us something similar to this: “I do not care what you do or say because you are stuck with me. You cannot drive me out!” His statement shocked me because I had not realized that we were the reason why we kept getting new teachers. Like Doug, this teacher was not afraid to be tough with us and to challenge us to change our behavior. As I remember, this man and his family did not stay in our ward more than a year or so, but he was there long enough to teach us how to behave in Sunday School class. Whenever I am assigned to teach a difficult group of children or youth, I remember this man and how he stuck with our class until we learned. The remembrance of his example gives me the fortitude to stick with any class!

            I am grateful for this Mother’s Day gift that encourages me to write the stories of my family. I feel certain that knowing these stories will strengthen my family and our communities and nation.

Freedom to Succeed or Fail

            The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns the freedom to succeed or to fail in business. After the financial crash of 2008, Congress passed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, otherwise known as the Dodd-Frank bill. According to Norbert Michel, this bill did not reform Wall Street or protect consumers. It merely propped up failing businesses that were “too big to fail” and put more regulations on them.

            Heritage Action for America explains why the Dodd-Frank bill was not good for the economy or Americans. This paragraph explains why the 2008 recession lasted for so long.

Along with imposing 3,500-plus pages of new rules and regulations on the financial industry, Dodd-Frank codifies “too big to fail” policy, runs local community banks out of business, restricts access to credit for investors and home buyers, raises lending costs, and reduces access to capital for small businesses. It also created one of the most powerful and unaccountable federal agencies – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Evidence shows Dodd-Frank is one of the major factors responsible for the country’s historically slow economic recovery.

            By sending conservatives to Congress and a Republican to the White House, Americans told Washington that they wanted changes. Apparently, some of the people in Washington have been listening because Congress is now working on a bill known as the CHOICE Act. Representative Trey Hollingsworth (R. Indiana) says that under this Act, “small community banks will be able to serve their communities as they once did – without excessive burdens from regulators that stifle growth and restrict the access to capital” and “hold Washington accountable.”

            The CHOICE Act has been a long time in the making, but it sounds like it will help small businesses bring prosperity back to the United States. Through passing this Act, Congress will bring the freedom to succeed or fail back to Americans without the use of taxpayer money propping up businesses that are “to big to fail.”

Disastrous Obamacare

            Donald Trump and numerous other politicians campaigned with the promise of repealing and replacing Obamacare. Members of Congress seem to be dragging their feet on preparing a bill for the President to sign. Liberals in Congress and in the States are still trying to convince Americans that Obamacare has been great.

            The attempts of liberals to persuade Americans by repeating the lie often enough to make it seem true is no longer working. The Department of Health and Human Services released a report titled “Individual Market Premium Changes: 2013-2017.” This report has several charts that illustrate how disastrous Obamacare has been. You can read the report for yourself, but I will include the conclusion of the report.

Comparing the 2013 average premiums using the MLR data with the 2017 average premiums obtained using CMS MIDAS data shows average premiums were 105% higher in 2017 than in 2013 and that the median state premium increase was 108%. Moreover, 62% of states using Healthcare.gov had 2017 average premiums double average premiums in 2013. Further work could approximate the relative contribution of the various ACA provisions, such as benefit mandates, guaranteed issue, and rating rules, to the overall premium increase in this market.

            Derrick Wilburn summed up the five-page report with three pictures that show clearly how disastrous Obamacare is. 

Fly the Flag!

            June 14 is known as Flag Day in the United States. It is a day set aside to commemorate the adoption of Old Glory as the national flag on June 14, 1777. (Is it a coincidence that June 14^th is also the birthday of the U.S. Army?) June 14 was officially established as Flag Day in 1916 in a proclamation by the President of the United States. Even though Flag Day is not an official federal holiday, Congress established National Flag Day in August 1949. The President of the United States is requested to make an annual proclamation concerning the commemoration of Flag Day. This writer finds it interesting to learn that there is also a week known as Flag Week and Flag Day usually falls within that week.

            Flag Day is an official day to honor the U.S. flag, but patriotic Americans fly the flag at other times as well. Some Americans raise the flag every morning and lower it every night, while others fly their flags on holidays or other special days. On 9/11 the U.S.A. was turned red, white, and blue by the many U.S. flags flying. September 11 is now known as Patriot Day, a day that still turns red, white, and blue. Independence Day, celebrated on July 4^th, is the birthday of our nation, and this day brings lots of red, white, and blue flags, clothing, decorations, and tableware. Most Americans want to see the Star Spangled Banner flying high and proclaiming freedom.

            Yet, there are people living in America who do not want to see the U.S. flag at any time or in any place. This group includes enemies of the United States, but it also embraces other people, people who should be grateful for the freedoms and opportunities that the flag represents.  One such person is Craig Calcaterra, the lead baseball writer for NBC Sports, who claims that the “image of the American flag is political.” He wants to keep sports “political free” by eliminating the U.S. flag from all sporting events. This writer guesses that Calcaterra would also like to eliminate the singing of the U.S. anthem at sporting events.

            Numerous American students are denied the right to wear patriotic clothing to school in order to appease those who feel uncomfortable with it. There are schools that no longer require students to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, and other schools that have eliminated the Pledge from their program. Still other people stomp Old Glory into the ground or light it on fire.

            There are people, living in the United States and taking advantages of all the freedoms and opportunities provided by this great nation, who are unhappy when they see the U.S. flag. This writer questions the purpose for their being in America. Why are they here if they hate America so much? This writer suggests that all these people move to another country where they will not be forced to see the U.S. flag flying proudly and proclaiming freedom. Fly the flag and be grateful for the freedoms it provides – or leave!

James Comey

            My VIP for this week is former FBI Director James Comey because he has been in the news for several months. The liberals did not like him because they think that he cost Hillary Clinton the White House. Then President Donald Trump fired Comey on May 9, Comey immediately became the darling of the liberals because they wanted to use him to impeach Trump. They kept the event in the news cycle in order to convince the people that Trump had done something wrong that merited impeachment.

            Comey released a statement on Wednesday, June 7, and testified before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, June 8.  He admitted that he understood that he “could be fired for any reason and for no reason at all.” This statement should have cleared the air about the firing. He reaffirmed several times that Trump was never personally under investigation. There went another of the liberal’s talking points.

            Fred Lucas, the White House correspondent for The Daily Signall, posted his report of the event in which he lists “seven key points from Thursday’s much-talked-about event.”

1. Neither Trump nor his administration asked Comey to back off Russia probe…. [Even though there is evidence that Russia tried to hack the presidential election,] “Comey assured the committee the Russians’ actions didn’t change a single vote, to his knowledge…. [When asked if Trump or any of his administration asked Comey] to stop the FBI investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 elections, Comey responded: “Not to my understanding, no.” [Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, is questioning why Comey did not go public with this knowledge but made] “false press accounts.”

2. A new revelation about Loretta Lynch. [When later asked] whether his decision not to bring charges in the FBI’s investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state was a result of a private meeting between then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton, [Comey replied] “that was just one of the reasons.” [He was also concerned that Lynch] “seemed to try to interfere with the probe of the Democratic nominee by pushing a political line.” [He explained that he] “had to do something separately to protect the credibility of the investigation, which meant both the FBI and the Justice Department.” [Lynch wanted Comey to call the issue a “matter” rather than an “investigation.” This was the final reason why he decided to make his announcement even though he did not recommend charges against Clinton.]

3. McCain alleges double standard. [McCain] sharply suggested that Comey’s FBI applied a double standard in concluding Clinton broke no laws in the email investigation, even though she potentially exposed classified material to the Russians and other adversaries. McCain appeared to suggest that the bureau treated Trump differently in the probe into Russia’s interference in the election, which includes unsubstantiated claims of “collusion” between the Trump campaign and the Russians. Comey seemed to try to make a distinction between the two investigations. … “So both President Trump and former candidate Clinton were involved in the investigation, yet one of them, you said, there is going to be no charges, and the other you said the investigation continues,” McCain said. “Well, I think there is a double standard there, to tell the truth.”

4. Trump told `lies, plain and simple,’ Comey says. [He explained his belief by saying that] he believes he was fired because of the Russia investigation, and that Trump was being dishonest about the reasons for the firing. [He also explained that] he kept notes of meetings with Trump because the president might “lie” about what was said. [He did not like Trump saying publicly that the FBI was] in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader. Those were lies – lies plain and simple.

5. The Flynn Conversation. [The conversation between Trump and Comey about former national security adviser Mike Flynn] was a major point of the hearing. [When asked directly if Trump ordered him to drop the investigation into Flynn, Comey replied] “Those words [“He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”] were not an order.” [Comey was asked] “You don’t know anyone that has been charged for hoping something?” Comey: “That is correct.” [Trump’s attorney Kasowitz commented] “Consistent with that statement, the president never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone….”

6. Feinstein to Comey: `You’re Big, You’re Strong.’ [Feinstein said that Comey was “big” and “strong” and that she understood that the Oval office was intimating. Then she asked] “But why didn’t you stop and say, `Mr. President, this is wrong – I cannot discuss that with you’?” [Comey responded that] perhaps [he] had acted in a “cowardly” manner in responding to Trump.

7. Comey confirmed as a leaker. [Comey admitted that he had leaked his memo about the discussion between Trump and himself and asked a friend to leak the information to a reporter.” [Trump’s attorney Kasowitz jumped on that admission and said] “It is overwhelmingly clear that there have been and continue to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications…. Mr. Comey has now admitted that he is one of these leakers…. Today, Mr. Comey admitted that he leaked to friends his purported memos of these privileged conversations, one of which he testified was classified. Mr. Comey also testified that immediately after he was terminated he authorized his friends to leak the contents of these memos to the press in order to `prompt the appointment of a special counsel.’ Although Mr. Comey testified he only leaked the memos in response to a tweet, the public record reveals that The New York Times was quoting from these memos the day before the referenced tweet, which belies Mr. Comey’s excuse for this unauthorized disclosure of privileged information and appears to be entirely retaliatory.”

            It appears to this writer that Comey could be in trouble with the law for leaking classified information. Trump’s attorney appears to be sharp and willing to file charges against Comey if needed. It is a sad end to a man’s public service career! It also appears to this writer that the entire issue has turned out to be a “nothing burger” just like Senator Ted Cruz called it months ago.

Socialism vs. Democracy

            The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday pits socialism against democracy. Every American should understand the difference between the two theories.

            Socialism is both a political idea and an economic theory to socially organize a nation in such a way that the production, distribution, and exchange of goods are regulated by the public rather than by individuals. It put the good of the community above the rights of the individual. It is the intermediate step between capitalism and communism.

            Democracy is a representative government where the eligible members of a state or nation elect representatives. The government is controlled by the majority of its members. It is a government where the power is vested in the people, and the people, either directly or indirectly, control the government.

            The United States of America has a system of government known as a democratic republic. As a republic, it is a sovereign state. As a democracy, the ultimate power is in its citizens who, directly or indirectly, elect representatives to run the government. This democratic republic has existed for more than 200 years and has proven to be the most powerful type of government.

            Proponents of socialism look at it as though it is wonderful. They apparently like the idea of equality for all people, but they do not realize that socialism results in everyone being equally poor and miserable. Venezuela is an example of the results of socialism, but the mainstream news outlets say little about what is happening in that nation.

            David Prentice posted an article at The American Thinker titled “Why Venezuela Matters.” He summarizes well the problems in Venezuela.

In a nutshell: Venezuela was once the most prosperous country in South America. It is now one of the poorer nations in the world. Food is hard to find, toilet paper is scarce, and civilization as the citizenry once knew it is gone. Venezuela’s story has been one of going from first to worst, a fact the left does not want anyone to know. The socialist paradise the left inexplicably wants for the U.S. lies in tatters at the top of South America.

Venezuela matters because socialism is one of the two great political blights foisted on the world in the past century. There are multiple examples of the horrors of this system, be it Soviet socialism, the socialist killing fields of Cambodia, the rotting Euro-states, or the current and unfinished calamity of Venezuela. Socialism is a system that always promises great things for humanity but in the end is dehumanizing, destructive, and false. Dressed as an angel of light, offering equality, fairness, and goodness, socialism always seems to change clothes into the angel of death. Destruction of the human spirit becomes its normative end.

            Prentice continues his article by sharing how he was indoctrinated with the wonders of socialism by his university professors. He then returned home and learned the truths about socialism from his grandfather. He names the various factions that push the socialism idea on the rising generation – public school education, university professors, the leftist media, Hollywood elites, an entire (unnamed) political party, and “Rich fools such as Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Google principals, media moguls, and Hollywood elite.”

            Continuing, Prentice claims that “Venezuela is the perfect truth for countering these `angels of light” and unmasking them for what they are: delusional shills for darkness and tyranny. This darkness … actually is a fact and has evidence – evidence ignored and unreported.”

            Prentice claims that Chavez came to power with the same promises made by Barack Obama: redistributing wealth to the poor. He said that “Giving money to the poor is always the bait for socialism; it allows power to be won and kept, as it did for Chavez. It allowed our cultural saviors to say how much Chavez helped the poor. In the end, it destroyed the people who voted for him….”

            Liberals push redistribution in order to come to power, and they keep the poor on the “government plantation” in order to maintain power over them. It does not seem to matter that socialism eventually destroys the wealth that made the nation great. Democracy is good, and our democratic republic is the best. We must safeguard and protect it by teaching the truth of socialism to the rising generation.

Priesthood Power and Covenants

            I love Relief Society. It is one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the world. It is a wonderful organization for the benefit of women and families everywhere. The visiting teaching program is part of the Relief Society. Usually, two visiting teachers are assigned to visit each sister in a ward. I love the fact that special sisters are looking after me, and I love being a visiting teacher. I thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to learn from my sisters as we share the monthly message.

            The visiting teaching message for June is “Priesthood Power through Keeping Covenants.” In the lesson several Apostles and a former Relief Society General President teach us how to obtain more priesthood power, a power that is available to both men and women.

            Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “My message to … all is that we can live every hour “blessed by the strength of priesthood power,” whatever our circumstance. … As you worthily participate in the ordinances of the priesthood, the Lord will give you greater strength, peace, and eternal perspective. Whatever your situation, your home will be “blessed by the strength of priesthood power.”

            Elder Andersen’s quoted words come from a Primary song (“Love Is Spoken Here,” Children’s Songbook, 190-91; words and music written by Janice Kapp Perry). The words and music are absolutely beautiful. I particularly love to hear my children and grandchildren sing it in their family home evenings. The girls sing the first verse, and then the boys sing the second verse. Then they sing the verses at the same time and end by singing the third verse together.

1. (Girls) I see my mother kneeling with our family each day.

I hear the words she whispers as she bows her head to pray.

Her plea to the Father quiets all my fears,

And I am thankful love is spoken here.

2. (Boys) Mine is a home where ev’ry hour

Is blessed by the strength of priesthood pow’r,

With father and mother leading the way,

Teaching me how to trust and obey;

And the things they teach are crystal clear,

For love is spoken here.

3. (3^rd ending) I can often feel the Savior near

When love is spoken here.

            Priesthood power is very real. In fact, it is the greatest power on earth or in heaven. It is a power that can bless every home and every family. Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles answers the question of how to invite priesthood power into our lives by reminding us that “those who have entered the waters of baptism and subsequently received their endowment in the house of the Lord are eligible for rich and wonderful blessings. The endowment is literally a gift of power … [and] our Father in Heaven is generous with His power.” He also reminds us that men and women “are both endowed with the same power” in the temple, “which by definition is priesthood power.”

            Sister Linda K. Burton, former Relief Society General President, teaches about priesthood power from a female point of view by asking an important question and then giving her answer: “Since priesthood power is something we all desire to have in our families and homes, what do we need to do to invite that power into our lives? Personal righteousness is imperative to having priesthood power.”

            President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, adds to the answer by Sister Burton with this statement: “If we will humbly present ourselves before the Lord and ask Him to teach us, He will show us how to increase our access to His power.”

            Since we are all individuals with our own issues and problems, it makes sense that we need Heavenly Father to teach us the particulars of what we personally need to do in order to “increase our access to His power.” He will give us the answers we need when we are ready to receive them. This is a quest that I have been on for years. I assume that it will take the rest of my life and then some to learn all that I need to know. One thing that I know now is that I can “increase” my access to priesthood power by humbly seeking the Lord’s help and by keeping the covenants that I have made with Him. I encourage you to join me in this quest.