High-quality English language analysis and editorial writing on the news.
Researching sexual orientation and health and mental health correlates, I came across a reference to Michael Bailey’s 1999 commentary on the topic in a book review by Dean Byrd, Shirley Cox and Jeffrey Robinson. The way Dr. Bailey was quoted had him saying things that I did not think he believed. I sent the link […]
Does Huntsman’s Road Through Beijing Lead To The Obama White House? When President Barack Obama rang up Utah’s moderate Republican Governor Jon Huntsman a while back to feel him out about joining a Democratic administration, insiders say the first question out of his mouth went something like this: “So, are you going to run against […]
A few days ago, a sister forwarded a plea that I join thousands of Mormons like us in protesting this Sunday’s segment of Big Love, which will include a portrayal of the temple rites practiced and held sacred by faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Instead of training my keyboard […]
There has been a low-grade terrorist war in the US that gets little attention, and the shadowy group has attacked again. Several cars have been firebombed, and an animal rights group is behind the attacks. Don’t expect much publicity about the attacks, because the attackers are so called animal rights protesters, a group beloved of […]
In a brilliant move clearly aimed at appeasing the Christian Far Right, John McCain stunned the political world by announcing that Bigfoot will be his vice presidential choice. The surprise announcement brought unified praise from Bush/Cheney Republicans, Pavlovian evangelical extremists, and knuckle-dragging pundits in what is being dubbed a bold political stroke. Rush Limbaugh expressed […]
On August 1, state employees in Utah will be transitioning from the typical five-day workweek and will begin working Monday through Thursday. The four-day workweek is a “yearlong experiment” that will attempt to reduce state energy costs and also cut commuter gas spending. State workers will put in 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday, and will […]
We all remember laying on the grass on a perfect summer night when we were kids, staring up at the starry night sky. That beautiful, star-riddled sky is quickly disappearing, however – right before our eyes. According to a recent Forbes.com article, the vast number of stars that were once visible have been concealed by […]
 The Megan Meier suicide case in Missouri (US) where the 13 year old girl committed suicide after being befriended and rejected online by a 49 year old lady posing herself as a 16 year old boy has attracted attention worldwide both for its tragic implications as well as the legal aspects involved in the trial […]
New Jersey art dealer, George Wieschenberg of Lambertville, was sentenced to six years of prison for being a marijuana “farmer.†According to MSNBC, Wieschenberg, pleaded guilty to “operating a marijuana production facility,†in which he grew marijuana plants, said State Attorney General Anne Milgrim. Back in October of 2007, New Jersey State Police officers saw […]
Since May 2007, Absolut Vodka has been running an ongoing ad campaign created by TBWA/Chiat/Day/New York, “In an Absolut World,†described by The New York Times as: [A] fanciful, even surreal, place where common sense prevails and just deserts are always on the menu. On Planet Absolut, for instance, men can get pregnant, the Curse […]
February 5, 2008 may go down in political history as the day Rush Limbaugh lost his grip on Republican voters – and the day Ann Coulter may have lost her grip altogether. Despite a concerted effort by the conservative chattering class to tar Sen. John McCain as a “liberal†or a “phony Republican,†and Fmr. […]
Barack Obama won more than half of the 22 Super Duper Tuesday states (12 to Hillary Clinton’s  8) – but Hillary’s wins came from such delegate-rich states as her adopted home state of NY, as well as CA, MA and NJ. Overall, 49 percent of voters supported Hillary, 46 percent supported Obama. Since none of […]
(London, UK) The Autism Awareness Campaign UK is urging the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt.Rev. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of York, Rt.Rev.Dr.John Sentamu, the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormack Murphy O’Connor and other senior church leaders to speak out on the suffering of some parents, carers and people with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome on Autism Sunday […]
  ALONG THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL Will A Year of Firsts Yield More of The Same Old, Same Old?  January 30, 2008  By RB Scott Boston, Massachusetts  Note: RB Scott, a former staff writer and editor at Time, Life, People and Sports Illustrated, frequently writes about national politics.  As  the barrow […]
Boston, MA. January 18, 2008  Although Irish Setters have been sleeping around the family manse for years, it is apparent that Mitt Romney has failed to absorb and grasp the subtle messages and extensions of the adage “let sleeping dogs lie.† That may be changing. Romney’s flare-up yesterday (1/17/2007) with the Associated Press’ […]
  By RB Scott Boston, MA. January 13, 2007  A respected national newspaper recently reported that Presidential candidate W. Mitt Romney, “reeling from defeats in New Hampshire and Iowa,†decided to suspend advertising in South Carolina and Florida, a decision that “laid bare the dire condition of his run for the White House…† […]
BY RB SCOTT Boston, Massachusetts January 12, 2008 EDITOR’S NOTE: A version of this column appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune January 11; another version was scheduled to run in The Detroit Free Press January 12th. Several months ago, W. Mitt Romney said presciently that he had only himself to fear. Despite his millions, the picture-perfect family […]
In the halcyon days of TV there was a game show, “To Tell The Truth,†in which contestants bluffed – even lied – their way through their résumés, claiming experiences and expertise they did not have. The object of the game was to fool the panel into voting for the bogus contestants, instead of the […]
NOTE: The piece below was published by Sunstone Magazine in November of 2005. Since, then it has been cited by many other national reporters, most recently last Sunday 12/16/07 by Tim Russert on Meet The Press. Regular updates about Romney’s pursuit of the Presidency are available at www.catchingmitt.com This piece may be reprinted or excerpted […]
Boston, Massachusetts As a not-particularly devout Mormon and journalist who has tracked Mitt Romney’s campaign since it began in 1993. My aim is to correct a number of errors in The National Catholic Register’s editorial of 12/11/2007 (Romney vs. JFK http://ncregister.com/site/article/7530/ )  and to set the record straight in a few other areas. You wrote: […]
The Many Faces of Jill Stevens Miss Utah First Woman Finisher in 2006 Afghanistan Marathon Call Me a Medic Jill Stevens: Sargeant, Utah Guard member, marathon runner and–Miss Utah? Read on to see the many faces of Jill Stevens, jack of all trades. Jill Stevens can look like a tough and gritty soldier one day […]
Years ago, wise-cracking, chain-smoking, beer-drinking First Brother Billy Carter reeled me in good as he groused that he, big brother Jimmy the President of The United States of America and other Southern Baptists were forbidden to engage in sexual relations with their wives while standing. I was astonished that any religion would be so unabashedly […]
Last month, New York State Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced that the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) would reverse a post-9/11 policy by the Pataki administration to deny a driver’s license to anyone who could not prove legal status – immediately prompting at least a dozen county clerks who operate DMV offices as agents of […]
Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs who headed a cult community of break away religious fundamentalists who claimed to be Mormons straddling a barren and rural strip between the Utah and Arizona boarder. Stands convicted of being an accomplice to rape. The jury hearing the case in St George Utah decided late Tuesday he forced a young girl to marry her cousin against her will. The self proclaimed “Prophet” faces life in prison […]
News Item: 70 year old woman arrested for brown lawn. Failure to maintain your landscaping is against the law in Orem, Utah, and a great-grandmother has the bloody nose to prove it. 70 year old Betty Perry couldn’t understand why a policeman was at her house when he knocked on the door, and got even […]
“Not so†says the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (AKA The Mormons). In a short press release issued today the Mormons are obviously trying to distance themselves from the firestorm that the Warren Jeffs trial is going to create. Jeffs faces trial next week on ‘statutory rape’ charges, for his alleged assignations […]
The rescue efforts to free six trapped miners in Utah has been put on hold until the seismic activity that has been inhibiting the rescue efforts subsides. The progress that the rescuers had made in getting air and possibly food to the miners was undone by another cave in that buried the 310 foot hole […]
A Utah teen recently completed a 74 mile run to raise awareness for people to donate to the food bank. Jordan Maxwell, a 17-year-old from Lone Peak High School ran all day and night on Thursday. His feat was the equivalent of running three marathons in 24 hours. Temperatures were in the high 80’s during […]
I have been watching the “reportage” on the regrettable incident of a teenaged killer’s rampage in a Utah shopping mall with mounting interest. In nearly every story of this crime the fact that this youngster is from a Muslim background is either muted or ignored altogether. The AP, for instance, avoids identifying the boy as […]
The new identity theft protection and recovery service by Truston is live. The service is unique because it doesn’t require you to give up your personal information, which could be stored in a database, and used to commit identity theft if it falls into the wrong hands. In case you’ve missed the weekly stories, databases […]
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