My Most Embarrassing Moment

My most embarrassing moment occurred at the district wrestling tournament held at West Junior High School when I was in the eighth grade. For those unfamiliar with wrestling tournaments, they lay out out up to eight wrestling mats on the gym floor, so there are several matches happening at any one given time. It is a fun atmosphere with lots ref whistles blowing, coaches screaming instructions to their athletes, cheerleaders sitting mat-side not really know how to cheer for this kind of sport, and there are hundreds of people in the stands.

I’m sure that you know of and love the wrestling uniforms, called “singlets”, just as much as I loved wearing them. When one is not in a wresting match the shoulder straps are taken down and the sweat shirt and sweat pants cover you. When you start warming up for your match, you slip your shoulder straps back on with the sweats still on.

Well, I had been warming up and it was time for my match. It was the consolation bracket championship match for 3rd and 4th place at the tournament. At the edge of the mat I slid of my sweat pants and stepped onto the mat. Suddenly I felt a cool breeze and immediately realized something was wrong. I had forgotten to pull up my shoulder straps and my singlet had come off with my sweat pants. I was standing there fully exposed for all the world to see!

My memory records thunderous laughter from the stands as I turned and scrambled to get my singlet back on, surely exposing my bare white bottom to the crowd.

They were laughing at the awkwardness of the situation... not at me and my parts, right?!

Why I once got kicked out of Cub Scouts!

When I was eight years old I was an active member of the Wolf Den in Cub Scouts. I am sure I earned my Bobcat award quickly and drinking the Wolf blood wasn't too far behind that. It just so happened that at that time one of the older neighbor boys, Travis, was teaching me Judo on the den mother's trampoline. (I don't think he really knew any more than what he had seen on Bruce Lee movies). My den mother's son and I were friends and they lived right there in the same neighborhood.

Before our den meetings started, we could be found goofing around on the tramp. One day, Travis encouraged us to practice our newly acquired martial arts skills on each other. I jumped up and did a fantastic double foot kick into John's chest sending him over the edge of the trampoline onto the ground. I was so shocked at what I had just done that I jumped off to help him, but he was ticked and came tearing after me. Out of pure instict of self-perservation I did a sweet Chuck Norris style round-house kick which planted right in John's face. BAM!

I really wasn't a violent kid; never prone to get in fights and such, but John's screams and tears caught the attention of the den mother and I was sent home for the afternoon. Dang! I probably could have earned another arrow point or bead that day!

Border Fence: Technology not a Wall

As I mentioned before, the idea of wall dividing the USA from Mexico, just feels wrong. Images of the Great Wall of China and the Berlin Wall come to mind. We have all kinds of cool technologies out there that I would prefer we use instead, like sensor towers, spy drones, and robots.

A Motivational Wrestling Story!

This weekend in Idaho it was the state championship wrestling tournament. Just the fact that it was going on brought back a lot of fond memories. Telling this story live and in person is so much more fun, but In honor of that great sport, here is my motivational wrestling story...


It was my sophomore year of high school at Nampa High. I was on the junior varsity wrestling team and we were going to have our first match of the season against one of our rivals, Meridian High School. That day Coach Squibb pulled me aside and said I would be wrestling varsity that night as the guy ahead of me was suspended from the team for using chewing tobacco and getting bad grades. Man…I was scared, excited and nervous!

If you are not familiar with wrestling, it is both an individual sport as well as a team sport. The team earns varying points based on how badly you beat the other guy. The coach didn’t expect a lot from me, this being my first varsity match and all. He explained to me that the way all the matches were set up, as long as I didn’t get pinned, our team would be able to win that night. I still remember his stubby finger pointed right at my face and his stern warning. “Just don’t get pinned.”

I went to my dad for some words of comfort… and he said with a chuckle, “Son, just don’t get pinned.”

As I stepped out on the mat, there was my opponent, Andy Nakashima. Man, this guy was huge! I have no idea how he was in the same weight class as me. His arms were as big around as I was. He was already ranked in the top five in the State and he was about to eat me for lunch. With great fear I looked back at Coach Squibb and Coach Lester and they shouted in unison, “Just don’t get pinned!”

But wouldn't you know it, in the first round, Andy Nakashima had me all tied up with his python arms and he had me on my back. With great fear and exerting all the strength I had in me I was bridging up on my head to keep my shoulder blades off the mat. What made it worse was that I was right on the edge of the mat looking upside down, up at my teammates and they were all standing there yelling at me. I still remember it in slow motion, just like in the movies, with their faces all long and contorted. They were screaming, “Dooooon’t geeeeet piiiiined!”

After what seemed like an eternity on my back, the ref whistle blew ending the first round and sparing me from the humiliating defeat of being pinned.

The second round wasn’t so bad. Andy Nakashima scored several points on me, but I actually managed to earn couple too.

Between the second and third round my coaches said, “Mortensen, you’re doing all right. Just one more round to go and even though you’re going to lose, just don’t get pinned.” I silently prayed, calling down the powers of heaven and all the ministering angles the Lord could spare, begging and pleading that if He were a kind and loving Father in Heaven that he would spare me the shame of getting pinned.

As the third and final round began, I took the top position from behind where I put my left hand on his elbow and my right hand rested on his stomach. I noticed that Andy Nakashima was breathing really hard…he was exhausted. Again, just like a movie flash back, my mind filled with visions of myself running at 4:30 in the morning, in knee deep snow, wrapped in garbage bags to sweat off pounds and improve my conditioning. I was in great shape. I was prepared.

This whistle blew! …and before I knew I had Andy Nakashima in this sweet basket cradle move where I had his head, arm and one of his legs in a lock with my arms and he was on his back. We were in a literal human knot. The ref slapped the mat. It was not I that had been pinned. I had pinned him!

So the moral of this story is, when all the world seems to think you are going to fail, and when you are confident in your preparation, and you have a little faith in powers beyond your own, you can overcome and succeed!

Dominion over the Earth

I consider myself a bit of a naturalist; a field biologist/ornithologist of sorts. I love, appreciate, and I’m deeply intrigued by what can be discovered in nature. True to the Boy Scout Outdoor Code, I am considerate in the outdoors and I am conservation minded. Few things anger me as much as finding litter in the wild. People who pollute piss me off.

Incongruous as it may seem, I am also an employee of one of the big evil developers/builders that is plundering the foothills north of Boise and Eagle. My father is a home builder too, so my entirely livelihood has been dependent upon a vibrant and growing community…which necessitates the destruction of natural habitat so that we can build homes, make money, and eat.

How can I live with myself with all of that internal conflict? Easy! I don’t believe the media and I know the measure of my creation.

God commanded Adam and Eve to “subdue” the earth and “have dominion” over all that is on the earth (Genesis 1). Interesting words! If we are to “subdue” the earth…that means we should conquer it, put it into submission, and cultivate it (Merriam-Webster online). That implies that the earth is in some sort of wild state which needs subduing. That flies in the face of the environmentalists and no-growthers. Unfortunately, most of those people don’t really believe in the Bible or in God and my premise wouldn’t be accepted in a debate with them.

Some scientists and crazy political/actor environmentalists have been telling us that the climate is worsening and that all kinds of species, including humans, are going to become extinct. My question is…Who determined the baseline measures for the ideal climate and quantity of species? Do we really know if things are getting worse? Worse compared to what?

I am an avid birder. Several times a week I make a tally of the bird species I identify in as I hike along rivers, lakes, woods, desert, wherever I am really. I submit my findings to http://www.ebird.org/ which is operated by Cornell University and is being used to aid the science of bird range and migration. What a great tool to measure with! But it has only been around for a few years. Too bad Adam and Eve didn’t have eBird, and then we would have had a truer baseline measurement! But even then, God intended mankind to subdue the earth, which necessitates changing the natural wild and unruly state of things. What a sacred responsibility we have to care for and tend our beautiful garden.

I do not deny that many of my fellow human beings have abused and polluted this planet and have tragically wiped out certain species of plants and animals. I support research and development of technology that would help us be more kind to our planet (just not funded or mandated by government). Thankfully, nature is more resilient than anything else I know of.

It is my dream to buy a huge, perhaps previously abused, tract of land and make a birding and wildlife paradise of it. Perhaps I would be creating too much good nesting habitat and the population of Black-capped Chickadees and House Wrens would become a problem and Idaho Fish and Game would make me start thinning the flocks to meet their standard of what ideal population numbers would be.

As developers, we go to extraordinary efforts and expense to conserve wetlands, revegetate cattle-trodden land, increase riparian and wildlife corridors, and be energy and water efficient. We do it because it is the right thing to do…and of course because you the homeowners are really the ones that pay for it! I’m excited to see what new animals and birds we draw into our project because of our restoration and enhancement efforts. (Check out our website at http://www.avimor.com/)

Where we live in Idaho, it is a desert. As mankind has flowed into and developed the Treasure Valley, there have been incredible increases in the number of trees, plants, and riparian habitat. I am convinced that there are more varieties of birds here now than there were when Lewis and Clark passed through this state. Environmentalists would perhaps see this as a victory…yet if we use some arbitrary baseline measure, how do we know if it is really good or really bad???

Something that I hope most people can relate to is the internal sense of joy and peace that one feels as they plant a flower, raise a garden, clear a hiking trail in the mountains, or construct a building. When those things are done with honor for our stewardship, then we can rest assured that we are doing right by God and by the earth.

Are the Russians right?

Are the Russians right about veiled intentions related to the proposed interception and destruction of the U.S. satellite? The Russians claim that it is really a defense system test. (see article) What is being told the American public is that it is a matter of safety. They are afraid that the full fuel tank would not totally burn up in the atmosphere and that it could cause damage across the space of two football fields. (see article #2)
I'd be interested to know just how many satellites have fallen to earth over the last few decades. Did any of them cause any damage on Earth? I'll bet most of them burned up completely or fell harmlessly into the sea or into the wilderness.

Now, don't get me wrong...I'm not opposed to a military defense system tests and I think blowing up this satellite is really cool, but the price tag of $40 million to $60 million makes me think that there is a lot more too it than safety. Perhaps President Bush sees that expense as a good investment just as a show of our abilities to keep the enemies of our country at bay.

It would be interesting to see this story in its true light...with no spin!

I'm still hoping they get this missile to satellite deal on video!

Illegal Immigration: Justice, Mercy, and the Savior Principle

I want to expound on my previous comments about illegal immigration, specifically the challenging question, "What do we do with the 12 million plus illegal aliens that are already here?"

First, let me start with a principle and an analogy, and we'll see where we get to from there. Just humor me with this and I trust that you will see the light!

There are two eternal laws which always must be kept, Justice and Mercy. Neither can rob from the other. (I'd like to thank Boyd K. Packer for his inspirational parable that taught me this concept.)

The Law of Justice demands punishment when a law is broken. Hence, Justice would demand that all illegal aliens be imprisoned, fined, and/or deported immediately and all employers of illegal aliens be punished. (This seems to be the line of thought that most Republicans seem to accept these days. No mercy!)

The Law of Mercy demands that we not tear apart families and careers, especially when we Americans, our businesses and our government have been giving them a wink and a nod as they have crossed the borders and entered our work force over the last several decades. They have planted their roots on our fertile soil and they are raising families. We have all been the beneficiaries of lower costs of goods and services because of illegal immigrants. (A blog for another time perhaps could discuss the negative result of lower quality goods and services. I see evident that it may be more of a societal issue rather than a result of illegal immigration. Yet, I am also a direct witness that illegal immigration has provided us an abundance of unskilled labor which has replaced skilled craftsmanship.)

How can the Law of Justice and the Law of Mercy both be met without denying the other? The solution is what I call "The Savior Principle".

We are all sinners and violators of God's laws and therefore we all should be cast down to hell. God, in his mercy, provided a Savior. We now have the agency to accept or reject the Savior on the condition that his mercy only applies when we accept him as our new master and we committ our lives to obey and serve him. He paid the price of our sins and the law of justice was satisfied and the law of mercy was met.

Now, theology aside, how does this principle apply to illegal immigration? First, we still haven't been very good at establishing the Law of Justice. A punishment needs to be affixed and enforced. We should establish a monetary penalty, be it $5000 or $50,000...whatever is sufficient to help repay the burden that their illegal standing has been on our society.

(Hole in my metaphor #1) Those that are able could pay for their own sins can and should. If the illegal immigrant has the ability to pay the fine on their own, they can satisfy the demands of justice. If they cannot bear the punishment alone, they would need a savior that could pay it for them. Companies that have hired illegal immigrants in the past would began to meet the demands of justice and mercy by being the first to step up and save their people. Private individuals and organizations can become saviors. Government should not be allowed to be saviors as that would completely defeat the purpose.

(Hole in my metaphor #2) There would be the danger that illegal immigrants would end up in some form of indentured servitude or slavery, but policies and enforcement would have to be in place that prevent this.

Illegal immigrants that do not have a sponsor would take the full brunt of the law of justice and have to be deported. If no one vouches for them, they obviously aren't contributing to our society or economy and therefore had no reason for being here in the first place.

Now this savior principle allows the illegal alien to obtain legal status, and I believe it should be that of full citizenship. Citizenship would allow them to become full tax payers. It would also allow them the opportunities of home and business ownership and the right to vote and be represented. Thus they become full participants in a productive society. I suppose I'm okay with temporary guest worker or migrant worker programs, but if they intend to move their families here to be raised in our country, they had better want to become citizens of our country.

Amnesty would rob the Law of Justice and only satisfy the Law of Mercy. The Savior Principle satisfies the ends of both laws.

Commentary on the issues of the day...

Shooting at Northern Illinois University – May the good Lord comfort the hearts and minds of the friends and families of the victims. With yet another college shooting, why are so many lawmakers considering banning concealed weapons on the campuses? That whole situation could have been different if a few students that were trained and licensed had had a gun on them. With the way the world seems to be going crazy, having some sane armed people will be necessary for our own self defense.

Navy to blow up satellite falling out of orbit – How cool is that! I sure hope they get a video of it.

The Idaho legislature has a bill before them expanding government subsidized day-care all in the name of pre-school with the intent of giving Idaho students a better start on their education. Even one of my personal heroes, Stan Bastian is a sponsor of this bill, that I don’t agree with. Government should be working to re-institute the role of parents rather than encouraging parents in this system of subsidized-selfishness. This is a sensitive topic in my own home as my wife does not feel equipped to provide our children pre-school level education. Its an issue that I have a lot of internal struggle with, but of this I am sure…kids that are loved and played with by both a father and mother who love each other will enter kindergarten with much more emotional intelligence than children raised in kid farms (daycare centers).

Mitt Romney endorses John McCain – For the Republican party, this was the right thing for Romney to do. I wonder what all the people that have sworn not to vote for McCain will do now. Are you still going to write in Romney’s name?! I’m voting for McCain because he most closely represents my principles of government, but I’m still a little bit sick about it.

I was attempting to write a blog critiquing Obama’s platform. I found it very difficult to do. Not because I agree with what he is saying, but rather because what he is saying could be said by any candidate of any party. He points out a problem and says he’s gonna fix it. He doesn’t say how he’s going to do it. It’s like trying to nail jello to the table. In general, he is all about the government taking care of every social ill…which leads me to my thought for the day…

True statesmen don’t legislate, they motivate.

Public servants should be able to identify the problems with our society, but the solution is not to create government subsidized programs which raise our taxes. A true statesman would use his influence to motivate the community of families and businesses to create their own program and fund their own solutions. I trust that people are really generous with their time and money and would be even more so if the government wasn’t plundering their pocket books.

Finally, our general manager reported a comment made by a county planning and zoning official that really got me heated up this morning. This P&Z guy stated that it was his job to “squeeze all they could out of the developers”. Thankfully, other members of the board disagreed and reminded him that it is their job to make sure that the policies are complied with and that the best interests of the citizens are met. This guy’s random statement seems to be the unspoken prevailing attitude of local leadership. Municipalities and counties seem to have a sense of entitlement that the big evil developers should have to pay more than their fair share of growth. As an employee of a developer, it is my opinion that developers should pay a just and fair share of the impact they have on the community. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has done economic studies that show that homebuilding pays for itself in both economic growth and in tax base increases within an eight year period. The needs for emergency response, police services, libraries, etc. will all pay for themselves, but you cannot realistically expect those services to be in place at the commencement of a new master planned community. When developers donate land for schools and fire stations, the community (especially politicians) should be profoundly grateful for such a generous contribution rather than those things being an expected entitlement.

Barack Hussein Obama endorsed by Iranian Leaders

RUETERS - Barack Hussein Obama has accepted the endorsement of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Obama campaign issued the following statement: "We are grateful that such important foreign dignataries recognize in Barack Obama an open door of diplomacy." A mixed reaction is expected among both Americans and Islamic fundamentalists.

Supreme Leader Khamenei today stated that "Barack Hussein Obama is our greatest hope. He is the chosen vessel of Allah to strike right at the heart of evil capitalist serpent. We are confident that the Islamic teachings of his youth still remain in his heart and that his rise to power will bring about Sharia law, thereby cleansing the west."

Ahmadindejad in an attempt to proactively dispell Islamic concerns stated, "Senator Obama's Christianity is a necessary cover for the greater good. His true beliefs will be made manifest as the American fools carry him on their shoulders into the White House."

Oprah, acknowledging the support of such powerful Islamic leaders, further endorsed Barack Obama proclaiming that "he is the president that will finally bridge the relationship gap with our Islamic brothers and sisters. Hey everybody, we're gonna have world peace!"

Baby Formula: A Conspiracy Theory

For the last couple of months I have had a very cute, but very loud alarm clock that goes off right about 4am every morning. Her name is Claire and she'll be one year old at the end of this month.

As soon as Claire starts howling, Jessica and I both lay there in bed having a battle of wits to see can wait the other person out. Jessica often gives me a shove and says "go take care of your daughter." I flop my hand around on the night stand blindly searching for my glasses, then I stumble into the dark kitchen, leaving the lights off so as not to wake anyone else who all seem to have no problem sleeping through the Claire-siren.

There I turn on the faucet to get the water hot, fumble around in the cupboard to find a bottle and a nipple/lid that actually fits that bottle, put in a couple scoops of nasty smelling formula, then take an educated guess at how much water to put in the bottle. As I walk across the living room I am shaking the bottle to mix it. It's always fun to have the little volcano action when you take your finger off the end of the nipple after shaking it.

Claire is needing her formula fix and she bounces in her crib and grunts and groans with the anticipation of an addict. She lunges and pulls the bottle from my hands and plops back down in the crib on her back where I lovingly and gently cover her back up with her blankies. Within seconds she is nearly back to sleep, in pure ecstasy, chugging away at a warm bottle full of the most powerful drug I have ever seen.

Baby formula companies are perpetuating a conspiracy on us all. At nearly $25 a container they've got be raking in the dough on the level of Columbian drug lords. That's all I've got to say about that.

Political Games

Working for a large land development company / home builder, we have our own lobbyist at a local level and we contribute money to PACs (Political Action Committees) that lobby in behalf of our industry and sometimes directly for us. Over the last couple of years I have had the privilege of being educated by our lobbyists as to the "games" that they have to play in order to get legislation passed. These stories are sometimes hilarious, sometimes amazingly strategic, but when all is said on done, I am just disappointed that our government has to work this way. Don't get me wrong! I am all in favor of lobbyists representing industries and so forth, but I am frustrated that they have to play games.

Here's an example. One local state senator wants to support a bill that would allow developers to use an alternative method to fund the construction of roads, bridges, etc. This senator is a former teacher and therefore doesn't support his party's platform on a particular education bill. The party leadership plays the game of "You'd better support our education bill or your infrastructure funding bill will never see the light of day." Nice!

Why can't each bill stand on its own merits?! The two party system seems to be the cause here. From reading the Federalist Papers, I came away with the impression that our founding fathers never intended a two party system, but rather as many independent factions as possible.

The other part of the game is pork barrel spending. Again, why can't each bill stand on its own merits for funding? Even the "good" members of congress sneak in some pork here and there for their home constituents, but that is not the way it should be. They say that not allowing pork would slow the process of government down...GOOD! The slower the better as slower means less! Again, the Federalist Papers seem to prefer a slow moving government. If congress isn't willing to cut the fat out of the bills, then I am all for a presidential line item veto that allows the president to cut out any piece of fat that he/she feels like should not be there.

I once aspired to high political office for a combination of reasons. First, I really believe that government can help people in their pursuit of happiness by staying out of the way of it. And Second, I looked up to people like Ronald Reagan and Abe Lincoln and George Washington as heroes that I wanted to emulate. Public service is a noble calling in life. Now my desires for high political office have faded because I just don't think I could compromise my principles to play the game. I still have a hope that local political positions would allow me to truly serve and better my community.

Romney in 2012!!!

Ok...I am bummed that Mitt dropped out of the race. Super Tuesday unfortunately resulted in a battle that would be better fought in four years. It'll be interesting to see what the conservative talk-show hosts will start saying now that McCain is the only viable somewhat conservative candidate.

I am glad that Romney ran, if for one reason, to allow people to see what a Mormon is. In the last generation or so, we as Mormons have began to leave the self-imposed seclusion brought on by years of persecution. The world's perception of Mormonism is improving.

Ther are still a few ignorant people out there that aren't willing to learn. The other day on a local radio station an elderly woman called in and said that Mitt Romney lied on national television when he said he would not take direction from the LDS Church President if he were in the White House. In response, I sent in an e-mail that was read on the air that said:

"If Mormons were all supposed to blindly follow the politics of their church leaders, wouldn't you expect Mitt Romney to be more aligned with Harry Reid? The LDS Church does not side with any political party and church members do not know the political leanings of their leaders. That lady was sadly an example of the divisive-ignorance that is damaging our country."

Mormons and Christians alike need to do a better job at focusing on being friends to all people. I am all for open dialogue about doctrinal differences, but it needs to be an spiritual and academic approach focused on understanding one another.

al Qaida is Evil

Strapping remotely-detonated bombs to mentally retarded women = EVIL

I don't care what your religious or political beliefs are...those wicked people orchestrating this will pay in hell.

May God welcome home the souls of those innocent lives taken and used. May God hear the cries from the ground of their innocently spilt blood pleading for vengence.

Could I vote for John McCain?

Ann Coulter came out and said that she would rather campaign for Hillary Clinton than John McCain. I would never go that far. If the polls out right now are accurate, McCain could be the Republican nominee, no matter how hard it may be to stomach. I am trying to educate myself a little more on his stances so that I can firmly state what I agree and disagree with him on. I went to http://www.johnmccain.com/ and read his statements on all the issues he has on that site.

I oppose McCain's position on torture. Perhaps the tv series "24" has desensitized me, but I am for "any means necessary to defend freedom and American lives." I also oppose McCain because of his unwillingness to support the national constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and woman. He thinks that this decision should happen at state level, which I believe would be ineffective and result in federal judges having to decide the matter as gay couples move from state to state. I'm not sure my stance on immigration aligns with McCain's, but nor does my stance align with Mitt Romney's. One biggy for me that makes McCain repulsive is that he jumped on the Al Gore bandwagon regarding Global Warming. He and Hillary went on a trip together to watch the ice caps melt and he came away a "believer" that mankind is destroying the planet. If a president falls for junk science, what else would he fall for?

I feel like I could support McCain's platform ont he following issues: lower corporate taxes, allow tax dedcutions and credits for business investing in equipment, technology, and research. I support McCains quest for presidential line-item veto power so that pork-barrel spending can be cut out of completely unrelated bills. McCain wants to overturn Roe v. Wade is perhaps a stronger statement that Romney has ever said. I support campaign finance disclosure, but not limits. I think McCain would handle Iraq and terrorism well. And finally I like that McCain supports school choice. I'm okay with McCain being a bit of a maverick within the Republic party, even when he criticizes Bush and the party.

Romney is my guy, but McCain probably is not a bad choice, especially given the opposition.