One of Those Days

 Amidst a country struggling with religious, political, and moral strife, it is difficult to find a subject that exalts and promotes some of  the normal, everyday events; something that takes us away from our screens, our often sour and bitter rants and disagreements. 

Today is one of those days. The idea began in the Spokane Central Methodist Episcopal Church in the early 1900's, when Sonora Smart Dodd listened to a sermon on the values of Mother's Day. Sonora was the oldest of 6 children, her mother had died during the birth of her sixth child when Sonora was 16 years old. Like any person would, she assisted her father, a civil war veteran, in the raising of her five brothers; and she was in awe of the wonderful job her father had done raising the family. She approached the Spokane Ministerial Alliance about having a day dedicated to fathers, and on June 19, 1910, Spokane WA celebrated the first Father's Day. President Lyndon Johnson signed a Presidential Proclamation in 1966 declaring the third Sunday in June Father's Day, and President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance on the third Sunday in June as Father's Day in 1972.   

As I said, today is one of those days. I thank God for our son, who is quietly exhibiting all of the characteristics of a good, no, make that great, father. His three children are shown the love, care, and strength of good parenting each and every day. Mike and his wife are raising their children in an atmosphere of education, love, and happiness. He takes the time to explain the whys and hows of the world to them, while showing by example the manner in which good people live in harmony with others. When difficulties arise, as they do in all families, rather than sit around moaning and blaming some "other" or some outside force, he responds with great mental acuity and finds solutions to the problems. He is not afraid to admit when he is wrong, even to his children, and he is willing to do what it takes to set everything aright. He, and his wife, expect and assist their children to achieve goals, to be well-educated and compassionate. He encourages his children to explore their talents, and has not missed any extracurricular activities as the children progress through school. 

As you might surmise from the preceding paragraph, I am very proud of our son. Please join me in "raising a glass" to good Fathers everywhere! 

Thank you for reading; please share this page with anyone in your circle who might enjoy it. Please leave any comments or thoughts in the space below. 

Happy Father's Day! 

R. M. "Bob" Hartman

On the Virtue of Knowledge and Trust

When I need my vehicle repaired, I am in the habit of taking it to Performance Place, an automotive mechanical repair company located in South Jordan, UT. Having mechanics that are ASE certified, with a shop that has been in the business of mechanical repairs to vehicles for 35+ years, is very important to me. I have a great deal of TRUST in their knowledge of automobile mechanical repair. 

Our family physician for 28 years, whom we TRUST with our health care, is well skilled in the arts and science of medicine. He has a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Utah, and Doctorate from the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. 

And I could go on. The point, however, is this: When I want a service, or a decision, or advice, I go to people whom I TRUST in their field of expertise. I certainly wouldn't go to Performance Place for my broken leg, nor would I ask our family physician to replace the injectors on my diesel. The automotive mechanic, and the physician, builds his/her clientele based on education, experience, and recommendations from satisfied customers. 

When Utah legislators write bills like HB374, the "Sensitive Materials In Schools" act, they adopt materials from ALEC and several conservative groups within Utah, such as Utah Parents United. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) consists of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives that draft and share model legislation for distribution to state governments, including Utah. Utah Parents United is a conservative group that works to drive legislation based on it's self-defined religious, sexual, and political "values." 

Neither of these group even pretends to have members who are certified, college-educated, degreed education specialists. None of the members of the Utah Administrative Rules Committee hold degrees in education. State Representatives Brammer and Strong accompanied by State Senators Anderegg and Bramble deemed it their right, privilege and duty to publicly abuse the Davis School District and its superintendent, Dan Linford for supposedly  'embarrassing the State on national and international levels' for removing the Holy Bible, King James version, from elementary and junior high schools following a parent challenge based on HB374. Here are some of the comments made in the 90 minute abuse of the district and its superintendent. 

You should be ashamed- from Rep Brammer.

This is offensive-Sen. Bramble.

Accepting the religion of atheism and hedonism-Rep Mark Strong.

Challenging the Bible's place in the district libraries is reprehensible-Sen Jake Anderegg.

In actuality (the world most of us live in), the "shame" and "offense" belong to the legislators for even proposing and passing the bill, and on Governor Cox for signing the bill. Putting the Bible to the same test as all other materials that are proposed to be banned is not accepting the religion of atheism, and I am unaware of any religion of hedonism. Perhaps Rep Strong could assist us with that religion? If you are going to ban or restrict access to  books because of sex, violence, genocide and racism, then the challenge to the Bible is well founded. 

Utah is being embarrassed on the national and international levels again, not because of the banning itself, but because a small ignorant, intolerant but vocal group wants their version of  morality, virtue, and religion imposed upon all who live in the State, and our state legislature is all to willing to comply.  

I leave you with this thought from the late 1700s. 

"Nothing is more dangerous than ignorance and intolerance armed with power" -Voltaire 

Thanks for reading, please share this with your friends and leave your comments below! 

R.M. "Bob" Hartman

Four Cretins from Utah

Four bigoted, small-minded, self-righteous, fearful, hate-filled so-called people who sadly have been elected to "legislate" in the State of Utah have used power they think they have to violate the 1st amendment to the U.S. Constitution while demonstrating their adherence to a supposed religious doctrine that is antithetical to the teachings of Jesus Christ, that we "love one another."

Here's the background on this shameful behavior. Utah Transit Authority-UTA to those of us who know and love it-sells advertising on the buses and on TRAX. This being 2023 and all, the ads generally consist of vehicle "wraps" that decorate the entire vehicle, front, both sides, and rear. I'm sure you have seen them if you notice the transit vehicles at all. R & R Advertising and Lamar Advertising donated space on one vehicle, a bus, to display PRIDE advertising, consisting of PRIDE colors and three picture/word sections: Work with PRIDE, Ride with PRIDE, and Move with PRIDE. The bus so wrapped has been in service for over a year in the Salt Lake Valley; UTA tweeted that it would be showcased in the Utah PRIDE Parade on Sunday, June 4th.

The four Utah cretins: Utah House Majority Leader Mike Schultz (R-Hooper), Utah House Representatives Candice Pierucci (R-Herriman), Rep. Kay J. Christofferson (R-Lehi), and Rep.Colin Jack (R-St. George) sent emails, using their Utah State emails, to UTA politely demanding the bus be pulled from service and more importantly, pulled from the PRIDE parade.

"Honestly, this is the last thing I want to deal with right now" Schultz said in the text. "IT seriously would be better if you made the change on your own. Let me know what you guys come up with."

It seriously would be better if the House Majority Speaker reviewed the 1st amendment to the U.S. Constitution before he made such a fool of himself. That amendment says, and I seriously quote here, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

So, using their governmental office title and email address while demanding a bus be pulled because they didn't like the advertising to me sounds like a violation of the 1st amendment to the U.S. Constitution. (For anyone who doesn't know where to find the 1st amendment, it is the one that precedes the 2nd amendment, you know, the gun rights etc.)

I am sure these 4 mouth-breathing lowlife bottom feeders are more than happy they interfered with the PRIDE parade and showed the Utah LGBTQ+ community who is really in charge in Utah. 

One can only hope the citizens of Hooper, Herriman, Lehi, and St. George will replace these 4 in the next election cycle.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you will grace this page with your comments and opinions. 

R.M. "Bob" Hartman

Utah Makes International Headlines-Again!

 Well, Utah, our holier than God himself arrogance has done it again. I mean, it is very important to show the nation, and in this case the world, just how righteous and right-wing pandering a state can be when it really, really tries hard! This effort was so massive that even "average, right thinking" citizens got involved! How much more grass roots and hypocrisy-laden can it be! We are so much better at it than anybody else. No other state comes close to us in right-wingerery, I think we even outdid Florida, and that is saying a lot.

I am referring, of course, to the Davis county school board book banning controversy. A "lot of good, God-fearing, Bible loving" people are up in arms because someone wants the Holy Bible King James Version banned from schools due to the amount of racial discrimination, violence, child abuse, sex, adultery, homosexuality, etc, it contains. One could say the Bible is the worlds greatest porn book ever written, if one believes it is the greatest book ever written.

The crux of this issue is historical, and the old adage "those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it" is on open display. I say it is historical for this reason; every attempt to ban books that are offensive to the group or person currently in favor, ends up banning books that are favored by many, if equal application of the ban is applied.

In short, one persons great historical novel is sinful in another's eyes. While a vocal minority voices disapproval of books containing content they think might be harmful, their same litmus test also provides ample grounds for the banning of books they themselves approve of.

Would it not be better to allow individual parents or guardians to review or discuss the books their children read with the children, rather than sit as judge and jury on what books are available to all children? When an individual adult, or group of adults, sets themselves up as "The Committee For Public Safety" relative to the books available in school libraries, the virtual beheadings have begun. Libraries, free and open libraries, exist to allow dispersal of thought and ideas, yes, even the thoughts and ideas of those we disagree with. As a youth, I read Marx, Lenin, and Hitler; they assisted me in developing a firm belief in democracy and basic free market economies. Reading those books, which my parents would not approve of, allowed me to grasp, examine, and discard ideas I found to be unproductive. Reading stories of children who came from homes that were not 1950's "Leave it to Beaver" perfect encouraged me to think I could also do well, even if my upbringing was not whitewashed perfection.

In fine, the Utah right-wing person or people that want books banned because the ideas make them uncomfortable, the same ones that are now furious about the Holy Bible King James version being banned are reaping the seeds they have sown.

I can only hope there are some adults in the room.

Thanks for reading, please pass my article along and as always, your comments are welcome and encouraged.

R. M. "Bob" Hartman

Before you flame me: I do hold the Holy Bible in high degree. I also do not believe any books need to be banned.

An Unusual Post

 My wonderful readers,

I do not talk much about my personal life on these pages, namely because you might get bored! But there are times, and this is one, where I am going to make an exception and "open up," as they say. 

I have been married to Kathleen, my wonderful wife, for 46 years this December. To say she has the patience of Job would be an understatement, but she and I have worked hard through our marriage to always be there for one another, and to make marriage work; as you know, marriages do not just consist of wine and roses! We have, together, raised three children (one of which we lost to cancer when he was 16), and been there for our children's children-Meghan has two, and Mike has three; I can often be heard saying that grandchildren are the reward for having children. 

Five years ago, however, we were handed our greatest challenge yet: Kathleen was diagnosed with connective tissue disease related interstitial lung disease, pulmonary fibrosis in the context of lupus, and systemic sclerosis with anti-synthetase syndrome. In English, that means her lungs are failing, and the medications that are available will not stop the decline. Her only alternative at this point is a lung transplant, which is a very expensive operation, both in a personal sense (she will need 24/7 attention after she comes home for the hospital) and in a financial sense; the cost of the operation will exceed $1 million. Yes, we have insurance, and it is good insurance, but as you know, insurance does not cover all expenses. We have therefore created a fundraiser page for Kathleen's transplant, the link is https://helphopelive.org/campaign/22301. 

I would consider it a great personal favor if you would follow the link, contribute if you feel so motivated, and please share the page on your Facebook, Instagram, and other social media outlets. 

Thank you for reading, as always, your comments are welcome! 

R. M. "Bob" Hartman