The Mormons

Few days ago I found an ad in the New Yorker for a PBS show The Mormons. At the time I wondered how connected this show might be to Mitt Romney's presidential bid and whether any of the funding resources were connected to him. I watched the show tonight (there is another episode tomorrow which will talk more about contemporary mormons) and I have not learned whether Mitt paid for the show. But one thing was rather clear: almost all the interviewed were mormons. I guess that makes sense, mormons do know most about mormonism :) I don't really understand why America is worried about mormons. They aren't any more dangerous/different than/from any other average religion subscriber.

Guns

From WP:

Investigators said Cho procured one of the guns he used in the rampage, a Walther .22-caliber pistol, Feb. 9 from a pawnshop on Main Street in Blacksburg near the Virginia Tech campus.

On March 16, he bought the second gun, a 9mm Glock 19, from Roanoke Firearms, a gun shop on Cove Road in Roanoke.

He used his driver's license as identification and had no problem buying the guns because he was complying with Virginia law, which permits the purchase of one gun a month, investigators said.

Then we have Q&A session from the White House:
Q Dana, going back to Virginia Tech, what more does this White House think needs to be done as it relates to gun issues? The President says current laws need to be strengthened, anything beyond that -- you had a conference on school violence with guns -- what more needs to be done?

MS. PERINO: I would point you back to the fact that President, along with Secretary Spellings, hosted last October -- October 10, 2006 -- a conference on school gun violence after the Amish school shooting and the other shootings that had happened, because the tragedies are the ones that just collectively break America's heart and are ones that we deeply feel, because all of us can imagine what it would be like to have been at your own school, your own college, and to have something happen. And those of us who are parents, or brothers or sisters of people at the schools have to take that into consideration.

As far as policy, the President believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed. And certainly bringing a gun into a school dormitory and shooting -- I don't want to say numbers because I know that they're still trying to figure out many people were wounded and possibly killed, but obviously that would be against the law and something that someone should be held accountable for.

Q Columbine, Amish school shooting, now this, and a whole host of other gun issues brought into schools -- that's not including guns on the streets and in many urban areas and rural areas. Does there need to be some more restrictions? Does there need to be gun control in this country?

MS. PERINO: The President -- as I said, April, if there are changes to the President's policy we will let you know. But we've had a consistent policy of ensuring that the Justice Department is enforcing all of the gun laws that we have on the books and making sure that they're prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Q Lastly, in Texas, if I'm correct, he passed legislation, no age restriction on possession of weapons, if I'm correct. Should there be some kind of federal age limit, as far as the President is concerned, raising the age for gun possession in this country?

MS. PERINO: Unfortunately, I'm going to have to go back and look at what the record was in Texas. Maybe Ken Herman could tell us. We'll go to Ken next.


And so it goes...

One more thing: interesting how nobody wondered if this was a terrorist connected shooting and nobody had to reassure us that there were no links to various terrorist organizations. If I recall correctly that was the first thing everybody wanted to know when the Salt Lake shooting happened couple of months ago.

Kurt Vonnegut died last night.

Harsh language

I am trying not to use too harsh language. Hate is a word I am trying to avoid as much as I can. That said, I genuinely, sincerely, truly, from the bottom of my heart dislike rain. Coming home from the office I thought I would be really clever and put a plastic bag on my bike seat so I wouldn't have to ride on a wet bicycle. By the time I got home, my ass was dry, but everything else was soaked. Rain is many different things to many people. To me, it is nuisance only. I do not recall ever being happy because it rained. Midwest sucks.

Another thing that's been bothering me lately. This blog stuff is very unsatisfying. Who do you talk to about people that bug you?

Chaney not welcome in Utah?!

This means they really are down!

Some students and faculty on one of the nation's most conservative campuses want Brigham Young University to withdraw an invitation for Vice President Dick Cheney to speak at commencement later this month.

Critics at the school question whether Cheney sets a good example for graduates, citing his promotion of faulty intelligence before the Iraq war and his role in the CIA leak scandal.

The private university, which is owned by the Mormon church, has "a heavy emphasis on personal honesty and integrity in all we do," said Warner Woodworth, a professor at BYU's business school.

Read more here.

Kitchen!

I love to cook. It is incredibly frustrating to cook in my current kitchen. It is tiny, but even worse than that is the fact that fire alarm is a meter away from my stove. I swear even boiling water sets that thing off! Argh.