Riding the Paria

Saturday morning Leslie and I got up early and went 4-wheeling with our buddies, Robert and Palma. Originally we talked about going out to a place called “White Pockets,” which is supposed to be very pretty, but at the last minute Robert suggested we go back to the Paria River (which we’d done last summer) because some environmentalists are proposing to close it off to vehicle traffic, so we opted to go to the Paria, potentially one last time. As we were passing Kanab, Robert asked if we wanted to stop in at the rally. ??? Then he explained that all the 4-wheelers in southern Utah were going to ride the Paria that particular day to protest the potential closing of the area. We opted to not stop and listen to the speeches, but rather to hurry to the river and get ahead of the big group – we didn’t want to eat their dust all day. As we unloaded our 4-wheelers at the old Paria movie set site, a ranger came by and told us that the river had technically been closed for over 20 years but that the closure just hadn’t been enforced, that there were hordes of environmentalists looking for a fight already in place, media ready to document any clashes, and that there were other law enforcement officers up the river who might want to talk to us if we proceeded. We decided to go anyway. So we buzzed up the canyon a ways and came across a group of park rangers who chatted with us for a while, tried to talk us out of proceeding by telling us that we were seriously outnumbered, and then let us go on our way. Then, a bit further up, we came across another group of park rangers, dressed in full riot gear, who took photos of us and our vehicles, but let us proceed. Shortly after that we passed a meager dozen or so environmentalists sitting in lawn chairs off to the side of the trail and holding signs telling us to “Obey the law;” they also took our photos and we waved as we went by. The rest of the way up the canyon was very pleasant and relatively isolated. On the canyon walls we saw Indian petroglyphs and pioneer writing; the pioneer writing (seen in the attached photo) is dated 1888 and was put there by the Hancock family as they used this route to migrate from Payson to Arizona. As it was the last time we rode the canyon, it was beautiful with red, pink, and purple colors, the water was refreshing, and the ride was a ton of fun. It was a 30-mile ride through the river up to Cannonville (named after George Q. I’m sure) where we ate our picnic lunch and gassed up our 4-wheelers. On the way back down we passed dozens, if not hundreds of other 4-wheelers, who were still going upstream. When we got back to the south end of the canyon, the protestors and law enforcement had all left. We came home, tired and sore and glad we’d made the ride, especially if it’s our last opportunity.

You can read the media’s view of events, including some photos, at the following websites: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=6442676 and http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12334760.

Note: the main voice in the on-line slide show at sltrib.com is of Mike Noel, who was our bishop when we lived in Kanab, and is currently in the Utah state legislature.

I also signed an on-line petition to request that this route be kept open to the public; they sent me the following letter to share with you all:

Dear Friends,

I have just read and signed the online petition:

"CITIZEN’S PETITION OPPOSING A FEDERAL TAKING OF OUR PUBLIC HIGHWAYS IN KANE COUNTY"

hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petition service, at:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/paria/

I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself.

Best wishes,

Colin

What am I doing?

What am I DOING besides complaining?

Very good question, and thought provoking too. Let's see:

1. Read as much information as possible, including re-reading the U.S. Constitution
2. Share information with family, friends, and colleagues
3. Write letters to Senators and Congressman
4. Participate in neighborhood caucuses - I was elected as a State Delegate
5. Participated in countywide Tea Party
6. Serve on advisory committee to County Commission
7. Regularly testify before Public Service Commission
8. Regularly meet with local representatives of our Washington delegation
9. Donate money and time to state-wide and national lobbying organization
10. Vote in every election

Short of armed insurrection, I don't know what else to do.

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

As I was driving in to work this morning, the president was speaking at the National Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting and it was being carried live on the radio. My commute is thankfully short so I only heard a portion of his speech, but what I heard was very troubling. Among other things he said:

"Today, of course, we face more complex challenges than we have ever faced before: a medical system that holds the promise of unlocking new cures and treatments -- attached to a health care system that holds the potential for bankruptcy to families and businesses; a system of energy that powers our economy, but simultaneously endangers our planet;" (You can read all of his speech at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-the-National-Academy-of-Sciences-Annual-Meeting/)

What this, along with his other speeches and the bills currently in congress, tells me is that this president has set his sights on not only nationalizing (and thereby ruining) our health care system, but also our whole energy industry. I personally only work in the electricity industry, but I’m sure that engineers in the oil and gas industries heard the same thing I did. I’ve got to say that, after more than a decade of working in the power industry overseas and in many countries with nationalized power companies (see the attached photo of the government power system in the DR), if the government takes over the energy industry we’ll learn what it’s like to do without – the same as they do in those distant third-world countries. No government on Earth has ever yet run a successful healthcare system, energy system, or any industry for that matter (check out the former Soviet Union.) I have to wonder, how far are we going to let this go? Beyond the point of no return?

aRe We rEady?

I bought this kit a while back, but finally got around to assembling the parts – see the attached photo - and there were a lot of little parts. This will make a nice addition to my small collection (less than 10) of personal firearms. So, “aRe We rEady”? (RWE)

What does "RWE" mean, I've been asked? Let me ask you:

Are you opposed to illegal immigration? Do you oppose abortion of live babies? Are you a veteran of the U.S. Military? Do you support the 2nd amendment? Are you stocking up on guns and ammo? Do you stockpile food? Do you believe in a strict and literal interpretation of the constitution? Do you believe that the American Constitution was inspired by God? Are you a Christian? Are you clinging to your religion? Do you feel like our government is spending too much and will consequently have to tax us to death? Did you attend a Tea Party on Tax Day?

If so, then you too may be an "RWE" or “Right Wing Extremist” according to our Department of Homeland Security, as detailed in a memo released on April 15th to all of the law enforcement agencies in the country. And whereas Arizona’s former governor Napolitano has ruled out the use of the word “terrorist” when referring to people who are suicide bombers or attack innocent civilians, she was quick to apply it to nearly every Conservative/Republican (except the turncoats John McCain, Jon Huntsman, and Colin Powell) in the United States.

Didn’t you get the memo? If you want to read it, you can see it for yourself at: http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/rightwing.pdf

Chile Santiago South Mission reunion

On Friday I took the day off from work to go up to my mission reunion. A group of former missionaries from my mission live in Idaho near our old Mission President and they decided to get us all together for one last reunion, thinking our old president won’t be around for too many more years. So Friday morning I took the day off and drove up to Layton, north of Salt Lake City. It was nice and warm in St. George when I gassed up, but it was raining just north of town, and starting at Cedar City it was snowing. It snowed all the way to Provo, which cost me an extra hour of travel, so I got to the reunion an hour later than planned.

It was kind of funny: I pulled into the parking lot and saw some old folks walking into the Stake Center and assumed that either I was in the wrong place or they were holding a funeral in the same building. Actually it was neither – those fat old bald folks were just my former mission companions. Oops. But it was a ton of fun getting together and chatting the day away, reminiscing about funny old stories and catching up on what everyone has done since coming home. I won’t bore you with the whole story – I’ve written three pages on the subject in my own journal. The attached photo is of me and my last companion, along with members of our zone at the end of our mission.

That night after the reunion (we left at 11:30PM) I took up one of my former companions on his offer to stay the night with him at his summer home in Park City. I’m glad I took the 4-Runner because it was snowing like crazy in Park City and my old companion’s house is built on the side of a mountain, mixed in with the ski runs, so I needed my 4WD. We stayed up chatting until 2AM, so we slept in a bit on Saturday. I stayed long enough to see the morning session of General Conference, had breakfast, and then headed south. In the afternoon session of General Conference, when they named the new General Authorities, they called one of the former missionaries from my old mission, who just got home after serving as president of our old mission, to be an Area Authority Seventy. That’s pretty wild, I’ve got to say. He must be MUCH older than me (although the Church website lists him as only 48.)

And speaking of General Conference, the talks were all very good, as usual. I’m always impressed by how positive and upbeat our leaders are, no matter how dark and dreary the world is being this year. I especially enjoyed Elder Allan F. Packer’s talk on hearing and following the Spirit. In the Priesthood session Elder Uchtdorf gave a wonderful talk – I think he may be developing into my new favorite speaker – his Sunday morning talk was very good also.

My turn on the soapbox

OK my friend, YOU were the one up on the soap box; now it's my turn:

I agree that Obama inherited a HUGE mess, one that dates back many decades. I'm just an engineer and not a historian or economist, but I can see its roots in the New Deal, which started the shift from "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" to entitlements that we couldn't afford. Then we had Nixon taking us off the gold standard and we started borrowing money instead of living within our means. From there we went to Jimmy Carter and his "fair housing" and "energy independence" for which we're just receiving the bill. We can fast forward through Reagan's deficit spending and Clinton's gutting of the military and semi-"privatization" of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Then we had Bush Jr. running two simultaneous wars on credit cards and leaving office "giving us the bird" with a trillion dollar TARP.

So yes, Obama inherited a HUMONGOUS mess, and one that he is apparently intent on worsening. He spent more money in his first quarter in office than his predecessor managed to burn through in two terms. Now he wants to socialize our banking system, industry, and energy sectors?! Oh sure, because that's worked so well in the other communist countries who have already tried that formula. Our dollar is so battered that we bought our own bonds this week (if you or I did that we'd be arrested for check kiting) and China has just called for getting off the dollar for international trade (and can you blame them?). So now that we've had our credit cards cut up because we've been so irresponsible for the past three decades, we're printing money with no backing. That can only mean we're in for hyper-inflation and total financial collapse, probably before the end of this calendar year. And all I see Obama doing is throwing gasoline on this fire stoked by his predecessors (there being NO substantive difference between presidents and congresses of either party in my lifetime.) So, I'm in the process of divesting my stocks and bonds and hoarding food, garden seeds, fuel, firearms, and ammunition; and I recommend you do the same my friend.

OK - I'll get off my soap box now and desperately hope you can tell me why I'm wrong and why Obama is going to fix a problem that has only mushroomed after being planted and fertilized for at least 80 years. I would really prefer to going back to "life as usual" and I'd like you tell me that's going to happen and how.