Further Looks at West Ridge Academy
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Education
When I finished writing my last post about Utah State Senator Chris Buttars, I continued looking into this institution he has been involved with called the West Ridge Academy, formerly the Utah Boys Ranch.
I’ve been doing some reading at website. If you look under “Testimonials“, you will find a lot of heart warming stories about families finding promising and sensational results after sending children there. One account is from parents Debi and Kirk Gilmore, and if you look at the Board of Directors of the Academy, you will find Debi Gilmore is actually the Chairman. If you watch the ten minute trailer (pretty long trailer) for “Clearing Time,” a movie that the UBRN is producing, they show a commercial that the Academy used featuring nothing but people they claim to be staff members giving scripted testimonies of their experience with the Academy. If Debi Gilmore is putting up her own testimony on their website, it isn’t hard to believe that they may decide to pull something like that.
The part that disturbs me the most is the connection to the LDS Church. In the commercial shown in that trailer, they indicate a very close relationship with the church will such people as former President and member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, Jeffrey R. Holland speaking at the Academy and posing in photos with their current Executive Director, Ken Allen. The commercial also shows children studying the scriptures and speaking with service missionaries, this despite the Academy claiming that it is nondenominational. I don’t care if your institution is tied to the Church, it’s not against any principle I hold or any law I know of. But, shouldn’t we at least be honest about it and not tell a blatant lie to the public?
I wonder if the Church is actually aware of the abuse allegations against the Academy from the UBRN. The Church apparently provides the service missionaries and even a Bishop to the Academy. However, I don’t think that the Church wants to be associated with an organization which in recent time has come under fire for controversial practices. I know the Church, and they do operate on a high plane, and if these things are true, then someone at Church headquarters is being kept in the dark. However, I would find it hard to believe that one of these Church volunteers offering services to the Academy wouldn’t know that some of these things are happening and wasn’t saying anything. Unfortunately, high plane or not, Mormons are human beings too.
The UBRN has also posted a two part recording of Norwood and others talking to Ken Allen and trying to obtain a copy of their records from West Ridge. Norwood claims that a staff member of the Academy has been posting a false accusation on the Academy’s Wikipedia article claiming Norwood refuses to share the records of his time as a resident. I looked through the history of the article, and was unable to find any evidence of that. However, when Norwood asks Mr. Allen for a copy of his records, he is asked questions about what his intentions are and is told that Mr. Allen does not know what the Academy’s policy on releasing records are. HIPPA clearly states that any medical records (the Academy being a rehabilitation facility) must be kept at least ten years and that a patient is fully within their rights to request a copy of them.
If this institute is in fact legit and operating with in the confines of the law, then what on earth are they hiding?
Chris Buttars and School Woes in the Beehive
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Education
I don’t have any idea what came over me just now, I have never called Utah “the Beehive.” Especially odd since I haven’t seen a bee since I left New England.
A Utah state senator by the name of Chris Buttars, a Republican representing the 10th district which includes Herriman, South and West Jordan, has proposed cutting 12th grade from high school curriculums and have “accelerated graduation” in order to save $240 million on the state’s budget. Utah has a $700 million budget shortfall that the government is dealing with, and $240 million would certainly help close the gap that the state is currently facing. However, do we really want the first and most brutal cuts to be to education?
Education is the most important thing that our government’s in this country provide, and it is also the only thing that can stop events like the subprime mortgage crisis from happening in the future. It is also the only thing that will allow us to stay competitive with China and the European Union. So, it seems to me that our time should be spent improving the curriculum of 12th grade rather than just cutting 12th grade all together. How are colleges supposed to respond to applicants who only went to three years of high school and how can Utah high schoolers compete with the rest of the country?
We should also consider the man who is proposing this legislature, Chris Buttars. Buttars has been accused, on multiple occasions, of prejudice against the African American community and the homosexual community. He has called the decision in Brown v. Board of Education “wrong to begin with.” He also said concerning a bill concerning school funding, “This baby is black, I’ll tell you. This is a dark, ugly thing.” On homosexuals, he compared them to radical muslims saying that “I believe they will destroy the foundation of the American society.”
Buttars has apologized for his comments concerning the African American community but has not apologized for comments against the homosexual community. Senator Buttars has been a prejudiced fool who has been elected by his constituency in the past three elections only for the fact that he is a Republican. Last February, the State Senate removed Buttars from his chairmanship on the Judicial committee for his comments about homosexuals, but he should have been asked for a full resignation from the Senate. We can no longer allow people like Mr. Buttars to make decisions and push legislation in our governments, especially concerning education in this case.
Buttars has had past involvement in an organization called the West Ridge Academy, formerly known as the Utah Boys Ranch based in West Jordan. Buttars served as the Executive Director of the institute who’s stated purpose is to “to offer hope and healing to families.” However, their has been controversy over the practices of the Academy including one case where a resident claimed that he was abused and filed a lawsuit against them in 2008. You can also find a lot on mormongulag.com about alleged activities going on inside the Academy. If these stories are true, Buttars doesn’t know anything about education and should not be making policy concerning it.
I ask the people of District 10 in Utah not to re-elect this person in 2012 and to even ask for his resignation from the Senate. You should be ashamed and embarrassed that you have elected someone who is undeniably dangerous.
My Opinion on Citizens United
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Politics
Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States, this somewhat helpless but wonderful country I happen to reside in decided that corporations had the same rights as a citizen of the country in regards to free speech. Particularly with regards to donating money to political campaigns. The High Court has handed down their opinion on the matter, and now here is mine:
If corporations now have the same rights as regular individual citizens, then I like some extra rights as well. You see, a few days ago, my wireless mouse that I use with my laptop at home broke and now continues to click continuously despite whether or not I am actually pressing the button. Therefore, I would classify it as a troubled asset and I request that the government give me $1 million of TARP funds for it. Hey, I’m going bankrupt every day that I wake up and decide that I am hungry, the least this government could do is buy one lousy million dollar broken mouse to help me through this economic crisis.
Another way I would like to survive the economic crisis is to sell shares of myself on the New York Stock Exchange. I was thinking a modest $50 million IPO just to help fund some upcoming projects I have in mind like dumping toxic waste in the west desert of my home state of Utah or purchase the naming rights to an arena to be used by a WNBA franchise.
You see, I really don’t understand what Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito (do you see a pattern here?) are thinking in their decision to pass this decision down. That’s right folks, politics is going to become more like NASCAR! I can just see Sarah Palin wearing a racing jump suit that says Palin/Beck 2012 on the front and DuPont and Kellogg’s on the back (because you know she would). And get this, apparently Obama’s re-election campaign is brought to you by JP Morgan Chase and AIG, what a surprise!
This is going to be a disaster. We already are fully aware that corporations fund campaigns as much as they want through certain means such as political donations from their major shareholders. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act created by one of the most non-conservative conservatives in the Senate, John McCain from Arizona, and one of the most liberal, Russ Feingold from Wisconsin, came together to cosponsor it. The bill’s main purpose was to stop soft money from freely flowing into campaigns. It also requires the candidates to stand by their advertising.
I’m Andrew Davis, and I approve this blog post.
The Return of Mac User’s Blog
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Uncategorized
I knew that if I hung on to the domain, that I would inevitably use it once again. Yesterday, for the first time in a long time, I spent an entire morning and afternoon furiously refreshing Engadget and shouting sub-profanities at my computer as I tried to get Leo Laporte’s TWiT Live stream to load. It ignited a spark in my soul that made me come to a realization that I wanted to blog about Apple again.
And I did, on this site. But, I starting to think that I want to give it another go. Blogging is the only thing that I can really keep up with in my modern life. I’ve tried many attempts at podcasting with little success, mostly because I lack the radio voice and the competent think-on-my-feet ability that it requires. I also lack the equipment, bandwidth, and the time. I currently can’t even keep up on my Twitter feed let alone a podcast. That being said, I am open for requests to appear on a podcast 
You can read the old archives of the former Mac User’s Blog here on it’s original Blogger platform (how far we have come). The launch of the new Mac User’s Blog is happening on February 1st, stand by!
Thoughts on the iPad
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Apple
Today, Apple finally ended the endless speculation about the magical super tablet computer device by introducing a very big iPhone. Okay, so it’s not really just a big iPhone. It’s more of a shrunken MacBook with a more simple version of OS X. Remember, the software running the iPhone is OS X.
I still don’t think that this is a device with mass appeal. It is a really specialized device which I think is perfect for people who do a lot of traveling who want a small device with a big screen to watch movies and read books with in the airport and on the plane and in the bus. I also can see that there is a lot of potential in the medical field. However, if you think that college students like me are going to be carrying these things around with their textbooks on them, well, there’s a problem.
It’s too expensive for the people living on my budget. I mean, digital versions of textbooks are cheaper than there physical counterparts, but they are still pretty expensive. But instantly, without buying a single textbook, you’ve spent at least $500, and let’s be honest, you will have spent closer to 6 or 700 for the better versions. Then, lets say you are going to be saving around $150 a semester on books, so you have to be in school at least 2 years before it actually pays itself off. And that’s all depending on if the textbooks are actually available on the iBook Store or somewhere else.
Oh, and by the time it pays it’s self off, you will want to buy a new one. Because the new one will have a camera, and 4G wireless, and will cost $200 less.
That being said, I want one. I have to just give it up, I am a wanna-be Apple fanboy I would buy anything that Steve Jobs tells me too if only I had the money. I think that this is a great device and would love to just have one to carry around to use to surf the net and to take notes and all of that. I am quite tired of carrying my 15 inch MacBook Pro around, it’s pretty heavy after you’ve been out on campus for a whole day.
Some may say, why not just buy a smaller, less heavy netbook like the Dell Mini or an ASUS Eee PC. It would be cheaper and offer all the functionality you need for a day in class. Well, it’s really hard to use a clamshell laptop when you’re legs are crossed. A tablet solves this promise. And the netbooks aren’t that inexpensive, I mean, do you really want to deal with Linux or Windows 7 Starter?
The Public Laundromat
Posted by Andrew | Filed under General
You know what’s great about public laundromats? They aren’t in your home. I am sitting here in a public laundry to the east of downtown Salt Lake City and I am actually forced to do something productive such as update my continually neglected blog here. After this, I may read a book or do some of the homework I need done before classes on Tuesday.
The reason for this is that I don’t have my TV, I don’t have my comfy office chair, all I have are a bunch of silver washers built in Sweden by a company I have never heard of to watch. And after watching them for more than two minutes, you will become very bored and want to do something else. After I finish writing this pointless post, I will probably read my new book, Inventory, by the writers of the A.V. Club.
The other thing is that the rules at the public laundromat are all posted clearly on each washer and dryer. Rules such as how to insert detergent and bleach and how to properly treat the machines. When you are in a situation with roommates and a landlord who owns the machines and doesn’t bother to go over the rules with you, you are just guessing, and eventually, your security deposit disappears.
The other reason Laundromats are great is that a person like me isn’t responsible enough to own something like a washing machine or a dryer. And when you live alone, thousands of dollars for such machines just doesn’t seem economical, when you consider the water and electricity that they use and you will have to pay for. The laundromat is $1.75 a load in the washer, and another dollar or so to dry them. If you only need to do a load every week, that’s about $140 to $150 a year. Imagine how much you would be spending in interest on the credit card you would have to had put the machines on.
Now, I must finish this up, both the machines I’m using are one cycle away from finishing. That’s right, I can use two machines at once here.
A New Semester at the U
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Education
Is it weird that I know who Angela Merkel is? Or Herman Van Rompuy? They are the German Chancellor and the the former Belgian Prime Minister now serving as the President of the European Union. Apparently, pretty much all Americans, at least the ones I come into contact with don’t. But, I am a European citizen, so I probably should know these things.
I am now taking a class entitled European Politics in an effort to demonstrate my superior knowledge of a subject to my peers who don’t care either way. Don’t worry though, because I am going to be repeatedly humbled by Dr. Dan Jones in his U.S. Public Opinion and Elections class. This is the professor I had last semester for Political Science/U.S. Government something or other. I can’t remember what the class was called. Which brings up the question, what is Democracy?
Dr. Jones asked us this in out second class a few days ago, and it is an interesting question. There have always been people debating whether or not the United States is a democracy of a republic. Democracy is a government that is run directly by the people voting on certain issues, but we elect leaders for local and national government like a republic would, so what exactly are we?
Hopefully, some of these questions may be answered with the help of my American Civilization class. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? It really is just a class about the history of the United States starting from the colonization of the eastern Atlantic coast up to the second World War. The first thing I learned in this class is the apparently, the Chinese came within a couple hundred yards of the San Francisco bay area, but never bothered to go on the land and check it. Don’t worry though, with the amount of money the U.S. owes to China, they may get a seond chance at owning California.
Last but not least, I am taking a class in World Regional Geography. Again, this is only to demonstrate some sort of superiority over my peers, who don’t care. No actually,I just like looking at maps, I think it’s fun.
Civil Unions, Marriage, Religion, and our Government
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Here's an Idea
I got an “A” on this in my Political Science class. It’s pretty long for a blog post, four pages printed out, but I think it’s some of my best work personally. I would still think that even if I got a “D.”
Hillary and Julie Goodridge are not names that many people here in Utah know, but in Massachusetts, they are seen by some as heroes. They came to attention in March of 2003 when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court argued the case of Goodridge vs. Department of Public Health. Months later, on November 18th, the Court passed down a 4 to 3 ruling finding that the state may not “deny the protections, benefits and obligations conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry.” Then Republican Governor Mitt Romney ordered town clerks in the state to begin issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples on May 17th of the next year. Among the first people to become a legally married same sex couple in the United States were Hillary and Julie Goodridge in Boston. Prior to the decision, same sex marriages were performed in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, no marriages for same sex couples were performed in the United States. For the first time, the conventional Christian view of marriage between a man and a woman was really being challenged in the United States.
In May of 2008, the Supreme Court of California made a 4 to 3 ruling overturning the state’s ban on same sex marriage that was brought about in 2000 by ballot measure Proposition 22 amending the state’s constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Chief Justice of the Court Ronald M. George stated in the ruling, “Finally, retaining the designation of marriage exclusively for opposite sex couples and providing only a separate and distinct designation for same-sex couples may well have the effect of perpetuating a more general premise that gay individuals and same-sex couples are in some respects ‘second-class citizens’” Within a month of the ruling, same sex couples in California were legally obtaining marriage licenses. But even before the ruling was passed down, groups were petitioning to continue the definition of marriage in the state’s constitution. Their efforts were manifested as Proposition 8 which was a measure to add section 7.5 to Article I of the state’s constitution stating “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California.” The measure passed with over 52% of the vote, and California became to the first state to allow same sex marriage only to appeal it shortly after.
Some of the main proponents of Proposition 8 were religious organizations, mostly the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS Church. The LDS Church leadership went as far as to write a letter to all of their congregations in California encouraging them to donate as much time and money as they possibly could to supporting the Proposition. The main argument of the religious organizations is that a marriage between two individuals of the same sex is that marriage is an institution of religion sanctioned by God. Pope Benedict XVI said in 2006 “Only the rock of complete and irrevocable love between man and woman is capable of acting as a foundation for a society that can be home to all human beings.” In 1995, the leadership of the LDS Church published “Family, A Proclamation to the World” in which they state “We solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and woman is ordained of God.”
Many people may wonder how marriage made the switch from an institution of Religion into an institution of the Government. According to the United States Government Accountability Office in a letter to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in 2004, there are 1,049 benefits, rights and privileges guaranteed to married couples in the United States. These include access to programs like Social Security Veteran’s Benefits and Medicaid and certain tax benefits. In 1996, the Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act or D.O.M.A. whose Measure Title states “A bill to define and protect the institution of marriage.” The Act defines marriage as being between a man and a woman and essentially denies any homosexual couple married or not all of these benefits. In addition, employers in many states aren’t required to extend benefits like health care and retirement packages to someone who is not recognized by the state or federal government as a spouse.
That is the main argument of individuals supporting same sex marriage is that the government is denying these benefits and rights to people because of their sexual orientation. Like Chief Justice Ronald M. George said in his ruling, “…same sex couples are in some respects ‘second class citizens.’” Second class citizens in the same respect as African Americans before the civil rights movement and women before suffrage. The trials facing homosexual couples in today’s world are different from those facing others who have been repressed in the past. In most cases, homosexuals can’t share employer provided health care with their partner, neither can they social security or retirement benefits and other benefits. All of these are benefits that every heterosexual married couple can have.
If marriage is an institute of religion, it stands to reason that neither the federal or a state government should not be involved with deciding who can and can’t get married. It is a violation of the first amendment of our Constitution which states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” If a religion decides to allow same sex couples to marry, should the government stand in the way of them receiving the same rights of heterosexual couples. At the same time, a religion like the LDS Church should not have to have their version of marriage scrutinized by the government by the legalization of same sex marriage. It stands to reason that the government should not be involved in the institution of marriage at all.
What the government should do is only issue Civil Unions to both heterosexual and homosexual couples that give them the same benefits, rights and privileges as a marriage does currently. Then allow the different religions to define marriage for their membership as they see fit. This would give equal rights to same sex couples while at the same time allowing them to seek a marriage from a religious sect allowing the practice. As long as marriage remains under the control of the government, religions and activists on both sides of the issue will continue to be at odds with this issue. At the same time, the religions and the activists will be seen as intolerant towards one another.
Shortly after Proposition 8 passed, a protest demonstration was organized in Salt Lake City outside the headquarters of the LDS Church. Responding to the protest, Church officials in a statement said, “It is disturbing that the Church is being singled out for speaking up as part of it’s democratic right in a free election.” Bishop William Weigand of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento stated, “I personally decry the bigotry towards the members of the Church of the Latter-day Saints, coming from opponents of Proposition 8, who ironically, have called those of us supporting traditional marriage intolerant. The largest civil rights issue of the last generation was that of the marginalization of African Americans. As Dr. Dan Jones of the University of Utah said in a class recently, “This is the largest civil rights issue of this generation.”
Max Hall’s “Classless” Behavior
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Education
If you haven’t heard about this story than most likely you aren’t a fan of either BYU or Utah football. And you most likely don’t know who Max Hall is and if that is the case, don’t continue reading because you are better off not knowing who this ignorant meat head is. He is the quarterback for the BYU Cougars and last weekend he suffered diarrhea of the mouth when he said that he hated everything about the University of Utah and called everyone associated with them “classless.”
Actually, before he said the U was classless, he said “I don’t like Utah. In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program, their fans, I hate everything.” Continuing on, “I think the whole university and their fans and the organization is classless. They threw beer on my family and stuff last year and did a whole bunch of nasty things. I don’t respect them and they deserved to lose.”
Great, so just because a couple a drunken wazzocks with Ute caps on accidentally spilled beer on his family, we are all “classless.” Max Hall issued an apology for his comments on Sunday saying, “It was not intended to be directed at the entire organization and all of their fans and I apologize that it came out that way.” Excuse me? When you say something like “I don’t like Utah. In fact, I hate them.” and “I think the whole university and their fans and the organization is classless,” I think your comments are in fact directed at the entire university.
But you know who is really classless? BYU if they don’t suspend Hall for their Bowl game. They won’t because they think that the apology they wrote for him would be enough, but the fact remains that he did not act like a sportsman and the Mountain West Conference agrees with me on this.
They need to send a clear message to everyone else currently on their team and any high school juniors and seniors hopeful to join them. They need to show that they will not tolerate this kind of behavior that does not reflect well on BYU of the Church that they represent. Last time I checked, Thomas S. Monson wasn’t telling the press “I hate the Methodists.” By the way, Monson is a Utah alumni and I’m sure Hall thinks he’s classless.
Being Technically Homeless
Posted by Andrew | Filed under General
It has been nearly two weeks since I was kicked out of my room in Sandy, Utah. Since then I have been making my residency in a Days Inn in Midvale and at a friend’s condo in Draper. Which really isn’t a residency, more of a potentially worse situation. I have been making phone calls, writing emails and meeting people trying to find a new place to live. But I have found that re-watching Seasons 2 through 3 of the modern incarnation of Doctor Who with David Tennant playing the Doctor (and I will miss him in that role) for more productive.
It all started Sunday morning when one of my roommates told me that my landlord was unfairly criticizing my father behind my back. This is a man who has only met my father twice and has barely said a word to him, and yet believes he needs to protect his pride by badmouthing him. Yes, I really sound like a hypocrite right now because let’s face it, I use this blog to badmouth people I haven’t really met all the time. But then again, I don’t really say anything that someone on The Soup would say, or even think of. Needless to say, the idea that my father was being badmouthed upset me and I confronted my landlord about it.
My landlord, his name is Bill, so let’s just call him “Bill the Bully,” tried to defend his comments saying that my dad was antisocial and ungrateful for the things that he had done for him. What on God’s green Earth has Bill the Bully done for my dad? All he did for him was blatantly avoid him, which looking back on it was a huge favor, so maybe thanks is in order.
During the four plus months I lived in the basement of the home of Bill the Bully, he has never been able to admit that he is wrong about anything. He reminds me of an 11 year old boy who has never heard the word “no” before and is being told it for the first time. Let me give you an example.
There is the thing widely available at fast food restaurants here in Utah called “fry sauce.” It’s ketchup and mayonnaise mixed together, sometimes with pickle juice added in. Bill the Bully proudly told me that this culinary revolution was invented and is only available in Utah and nowhere else in the world. As a member of the culture which invented fries, the Belgians, I happen to know that that statement is complete rubbish. Utahns weren’t the first to mix ketchup and mayo together, that’s something that you can find across Europe. In fact, the standard “frituur” in Belgium has at least 2 dozen things to dip fries in.
But no, upon telling the Bully that fry sauce isn’t a unique commodity of Utah, he began insisting that I didn’t know anything about it. I could go on, but the fact is that the Bully didn’t back down, and even resorted to yelling at me, despite never having been the Europe like I have (I think that leaving the United States would scare him).
Not to mention the constant pestering into my personal life. He wanted to know how school was going, and how my job hunt was going, and the intimate details of my financial situation. Here’s the answer to all of them: NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. It was like he was trying to be my parent, or at least my estranged Uncle of some sort. He would come down to my room and knock on my door and ask me questions and he would pick and prod through my personal things. I also happen to know that on more than one occasion, he entered my room without my prior permission.
So, he got so angry at me that he decided to kick me out, even though that’s illegal. He told me that I owed him $400 for December’s rent despite November just having barely begun. He demanded that I return his key and that everything in my room now belonged to him, and then he threatened to call the police on me. And here I am, sitting in my friend’s living room stealing WiFi from someone called “linksys” across the street.
But as for Bill the Bully, he can stay in his house adorned with miniatures of Disney characters, frogs, pigs and old people that only seventy year old women and gay men with no taste would posses. But he should know that he has not heard the last of me. I will prosecute him and I will win. He can’t always have it his way.