last minute story

An off-duty Lehi police officer who saved a man’s life outside a restaurant Thursday says he was just in the right place at the right time and credits his training for being able to help.

Officer James Skinner has been with the Lehi Police Department for 3 ½ years. During that time, he’s responded to just about everything.

“A lot of times it’s not a happy ending for an individual,” Skinner said Saturday.

On Feb. 21, Skinner was walking out to his car after eating dinner with is family. He saw a man lying unconscious on the pavement outside the Del Taco restaurant at 3633 N. Thanksgiving Way.

“So, I go around the car and I see this guy lying lifeless on the ground, and there are three people around him trying to figure out what to do,” Skinner said.

At first glance, he assumed the worst.

“When I first started looking at him, I thought: This guy is already dead. His eyes were open, his pupils fixed; he’s not responsive to anything,” Skinner said. “In my mind, he’s gone.”

But instinct kicked in, and Skinner began performing CPR on the man. The police officer's wife and children stood nearby and watched.

“It was pretty amazing to see him trade from ‘dad mode’ and hanging out at Del Taco to ‘cop mode,” said Brittany Skinner, James Skinner’s wife.

Officer Skinner said switching from dad mode to cop mode happened so quickly thanks to his CPR training.

“It helped me know how to do it properly,” he said.

Read more at http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=28814899#YWWzp53fOG2drWd6.99

i thought this was a cool story and reminded me of the importance of scouting. cause in scouting there are merit badges such as the first aid merit badge that we scouts will earn. and those scouts that have earned that merit badge will know what to do in that type of situation.

Will the US pulling out of Afghanistan encourage the Taliban?

 My opinion is that we shouldn't really pull out of Afghanistan because the Taliban will just move back in to the places we pushed them out of, so what use would it have been to push them out? Also, they will probably think we are retreating so they will be encouraged to attack us more! Plus, Afghanistan will look to the Taliban for protection!


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-26358860

discrimination wins over religion

Elaine Huguenin (a photographer) turned down a request from a lesbian couple, Vanessa Willock and Misti Collinsworth, to document their commitment ceremony. The women, who hired another photographer, filed a discrimination complaint against Ms. Huguenin’s studio, Elane Photography. So far, her studio has lost in the courts.

many other story like this one have come up because some people don't want to let their business be involved in gay weddings based on their religious beliefs. (a few of them will be listed below including this one.) i think even though people shouldn't discriminate the government shouldn't protect the gays because they will be fighting the right to freedom of religion. and supporting the right to have cake/photos/flowers/etc. at weddings?

click these likes for more info: story above   related story with flowers   related story with cake

Stand As A Witness

          In the Deseret News, there was an article posted an article in which it referred to a talk that Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave on February 25 to members in Rexburg Idaho. He challenged each of us to, "Stand as a Witness of God" He addressed the inability to have free exercise of religion and admonished believers everywhere to unite and "to insist upon our constitutional right to the free exercise of our religions," As well as standing as a witness of God, and of absolute truths. He suggests three ways we can do this: 

          First, "In our private personal and family prayers we should ask God to help us and our neighbors and leaders recognize God our creator and the right and wrong established by his commandments," he said. "We should do this for the good of his children everywhere.

          Second, Elder Oaks tells us to "counter the diminishing mention of religious faith and references to God and his blessings in our public discourse." To do so, "we should speak truthfully of the fact that this nation was founded by persons and leaders who were predominantly Christians and who embodied the principles of their faith in the constitution, laws and culture of this nation" and "contend for the inclusion in textbooks and teaching in school settings of accurate accounts of great historical documents that recognize and invoke the blessings of God in the founding and preservation of this nation."
          And third, "We need to support the coalitions of religious leaders and God-fearing people who are coming together to defend our nation’s traditional culture of belief in God and the acknowledgement of his blessings."

          Elder Oaks, has made a bold, and true statement that I think we all need to hear. Standing as a Witness, doesn't mean we sit in the background and watch as our religious freedoms are taken away, and God is taken out of our lives. We need to bring up, in everyday conversation, our religion, stand for what we believe in, and never get close to the line of evil.

Sources:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865597383/At-BYU-Idaho-Elder-Oaks-calls-LDS-members-believers-everywhere-to-action-as-witnesses-of-God.html

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/oaks-religious-freedom

By Emma Miller

Odd story.

So today I saw a news story were a dude, who was protesting against wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle, crashed, then died, because his was not wearing a helmet. Sorry but I don't have the link to the whole story.

The power of the masses illustrated

The only power we have over our representatives once they are elected is whether they will be re-elected. So mass action will sway their opinions. For example:

Several Arizona lawmakers backtrack on bill critics dub as anti-gay 

The three state senators, who initially voted in favor of the measure, said in a letter to Republican Governor Jan Brewer that the proposal had been mistakenly approved in haste and had already caused "immeasurable harm" to Arizona's national image.

Most likely the "immeasurable harm" they are talking about is really to their chances of being re-elected.

Constructive activism

If we tear down existing institution and structures without first building a replacement, we will create a vacuum of power, or vacuum of need. Who or what will fill that vacuum? Probably several whos, all subscribing to whatever worldviews are presently dominant in society. This will lead to a struggle and the winner of the struggle will be the most vicious and relentless someone or somewhat.

When we first build a better institution, we will take down the old older system without a fight, because it will simply be obsolete. The struggle will be in the building, not in the destroying.

We can get rid of Social Security if we all honor our parents and care for our elders. We can abolish the Department of Education of we all teach our children at home and in local cooperatives. We can end government welfare if we all give charitably and help others learn to be self-sufficient. We can conquer corrupt governments if we first build Zion.

(For more on this, read Connor Boyack's book, "Latter-Day Responsibility")