How to be an Informed Voter When You Have a Limited Amount of Time

The other day my daughter asked me. "I want to be a responsible voter, but I don't have time to read everything and do a lot of research. Can you tell me how to learn about the issues and the candidates in the least amount of time possible?"

Most of us don't have time to study politics and issues in depth. We are busy with our families, our jobs, our church and community activities. Here are a few suggestions.

1. Focus on issues, not on personalities. We are choosing leaders who (hopefully) will serve us and make our country and communities a better place. We are not choosing a best actor for an Academy Award. You could even start by making a personal list of issues that are most important to you: freedom, health care, national security,education, income inequality, jobs, etc. before you start your research.

2. Read party platforms. They are available online. Here is the National Republican Party Platform https://gop.com/platform/  I think it is the best platform we have had in years. (One thing I found interesting is what it says about term limits. I think we desperately need term limits for Congress and I had assumed that we will have to have a convention of states to get them. But in the platform I learned that the Republicans have introduced term limits in Congress several times only to be defeated by Democrats.) At the bottom of this page are links to the Utah and Salt Lake County Republican Party websites. Their platforms are pretty much the same. Here is the Salt Lake County Republican Party Platform and here is the Utah Republican Party Platform.

3. Go to http://vote.utah.gov. Explore this web site and you will find a wealth of information. You can even register to vote here or make changes to your registration, up until 7 days before the election. You can enter your address and locate a sample ballot. The voter information packet is on this web site. You can request a paper copy be mailed to you, but everything is online and with the sample ballot feature it will be individualized for you. Here is where you can learn about the propositions and the arguments for and against. Here is where you can learn about the judges who will be on the ballot for our approval or disapproval.

4. I like the web site http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ This is much more efficient than Facebook. There are polls. There are links to some of the best articles all across the nation. Much of the stuff on Facebook leads you to disgusting ads and is biased in a ridiculous way. And some of them are also on Real Clear Politics. (Here is an interesting article I just found about other candidates besides Donald Trump who suggested prosecuting their opponent. http://thefederalist.com/2016/10/10/16-times-democrats-tried-to-prosecute-their-opponents/ )  Real Clear Politics is the web site to be watching on Election Night.

5. There is always this blog with news and announcements for the voters of Precinct WJD030.. I will continue to post things that I think will be helpful. I like to read a lot and I want to write reviews telling some of the things that I have learned. And if anyone wants to write a guest blog post that will be great.

6. I will be getting the DVD of Dinesh D'Sousa's Hillary's America, the Secret History of the Democratic Party http://hillarysamericathemovie.com/#trailer from Amazon today. Ron and I have seen it in the theater and highly recommend it. Call me if you want to borrow it.

7. There are a number of online presentations that are very informational. If you didn't have time to go to the Socialism Destroys Freedom Event recently held at Cottonwood High School you can watch it online. I will post the site later when I find it. There are lots of events online at My Faith Votes. My favorite so far is An Honest Discussion About a Difficult Election. https://www.myfaithvotes.org/honestdiscussion

8. Don't forget to research local issues and candidates. Your vote is even more important on the local and state level. Most candidates have web sites. Sometimes there are Meet the Candidate Events, but not so much this year. There are broadcasts of debates on public television and some of them are later put on line. For example if you missed the debate between Governor Gary Herbert and Mike Weinholtz you can watch it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHa3JaV75lg&feature=youtu.be   For other debates check out Utah Debate Commission.

9. There are many more things you can do to become more informed. I hope this information is helpful. A good  motto is "Pray Think Vote." Really really pray. Really really think about the implications to our community, our state, our country, to our constitution and to our civilization. Take your vote seriously. Vote like your vote is the deciding vote. Some good questions to ask yourself are: Am I basing my decision on me, and my feelings and my conscience or upon the greater good, the common good of society? Am I looking at personalities or upon policies that will result from electing various candidates? Which candidates best reflect my values? Is my vote more focused on the next 30 days or on the next 30 years?  #PrayThinkVote

Event Review: An Honest Discussion About a Difficult Election

I watched this event live over the Internet. It was extremely interesting and as of this date, it is the most helpful resource I have seen so far in making my voting decisions. Last night I viewed it again. 

So the first time I saw it was before the news story of Donald Trump's lewd conversation broke on Friday afternoon (a favorite time for unpleasant news to be released). I wondered if the news story would impact my opinion of the event. I don't think it did. I was not surprised by the news story and am confident that the speakers in the forum were fully aware of Mr. Trump's character when they participated.

It was sponsored by My Faith Votes, The Florida Family Policy Council and LifeBridge Church of Windemere, Florida (where the event was held). It was held Tuesday October 4 right before the Vice Presidential Debate at 5:00 PM MDT.

There was a forum of four speakers and a moderator. There were also questions from the audience in attendance and from Facebook and folks who were watching via live streaming at the My Faith Votes website.

The moderator was John Stemberger (President and General Counsel of the Florida Family Policy Council. The speakers were 

1. Pastor Clayton Cloer of a large and diverse congregation in Orlando - First Baptist Church of Central Florida.

2. Bill Wichterman author and former White House Liaison to the Faith Community under President George W. Bush

3. Bob Vander Plaats President and CEO of Iowa's The Family Leader, political strategist, a former candidate for governor of Iowa.

4.Bishop Harry Jackson  Reconciled Divide http://www.thereconciledchurch.org/

leader of HILC (High Impact Leadership Coalition) in Washington D.C.

All five of these men are highly qualified and a sentence or two is not sufficient to introduce them. 

Another organization that was mentioned is Family Research Council and Family Policy Councils. There are state family policy councils in 38 states. There is not one in Utah.

Here are a few of my notes. 

Bob Vander Plaats: "You can fool a fool. You can con a con. But you can't kid a kid." "Our schools are not designed to raise our children. Parents raise children."

Bill Wichtermann: He enumerated multiple complaints about Donald Trump using quotations from Trump. When he was asked about whether he could vote for Gary Johnson he replied that he is a social conservative and Gary Johnson is not. And he is a military conservative and Gary Johnson is not.

Pastor Cloer: He had the perspective of being a pastor and being hampered in his helping people because of entitlements that favor single parents over married couples, gender confusion, illegal immigrants who can not have the protection of the law because of their situation, etc.

Bishop Harry Jackson was probably the most vocal. Here are his seven issues that frame his voting decisions.

1. Religious Liberty

2. Supreme Court Justices

3, Support of Israel

4. Education

5. Business Empowerment

6. Dealing with Nonviolent Offenders Fairly

7. Family Tax Incentives

One statistic for #5 was that under President Obama 1.8% of small business loans went to black Americans. Under President Bush 8% of small business loans went to black Americans. Since black Americans are 13% of the population they should have received 13% of the small business loans.

In his opinion the Democratic Party has an adulterous relationship with the Black Community. Just before an election the party comes around courting and sweet talking. Then after the election the Party disappears and there are "no flowers, no candy, no support." 

Bishop Jackson told about his father who was not allowed to vote because he was a Black American. Partly because of this he is adamant that voting is not a right. Voting is a responsibility.

John Stenberger was an excellent moderator and asked many pertinent questions. At the end he had a wonderful list of questions for us as voters to ask ourselves. 

I am motivated to Pray Think Vote.

SPOILER: Four of these men are going to vote for Donald Trump. One is going to vote for Evan McMullin.

#PrayThinkVote

Book Review: Armageddon: How Trump Can Beat Hillary by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann

Dick Morris is a political strategist who worked for the Clintons in the White House and before that in their Arkansas days. He sees another Clinton presidency as America's worst nightmare. So he calls this election an Armageddon or a final and conclusive battle between the forces of good and evil.

Dick's wife Eileen McGann is the publisher of http://thehillarydaily.com/. Together they have written 15 books, 10 New York Times best sellers.

Here is the strategy and the pertinent issues that the authors lay out for Trump.
1. Use the Right Jab to Bring Out Our Base.
Terrorism is the key issue. ISIS has grown on her watch. Obama Care is failing to keep its promises.
2. Throw the Left Hook! Destroy the Obama/Hillary Base.
Bring the Jobs Home to win the White Working Class.Trump is pointing out the bad deals we have with China and Mexico and the TPP and how this costs American jobs. He is also pointing out how illegal immigrants are taking jobs and holding down wages. Issues about Wall Street was a big difference  in the Primary Election between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Hopefully Trump will win over the Sanders supporters.
3. Peel Away Hillary's base Constituencies. Use the issues of education and school choice. Win over women, Hispanics, Black voters, and young voters.

There is a compelling chapter called A Dozen Reasons Hillary Should Not Be President.

I thought the economic issues were detailed well in this book. According to the authors and the documentation in the notes, income inequality in this country is getting worse. "And according to Emmanuel Saez, a top liberal economist from Berkley, under Barack Obama, 91% of the increase in earnings went to the top 1%." p. 96

A quote that I have thought about a lot is from Bob Crandall of American Airlines.  He said "New York is tough but it is not mean. Washington is mean but it is not tough." There is more to the quote. I think the authors are trying to explain how Trump being a New Yorker businessman is tough and he offends people, but he is not cut throat mean like the Washington establishment.

In the opinion of the authors Bernie Sanders did not put pressure on Hillary and use her many scandals in his campaign. They believe this was his mistake. It looks like Trump is taking their advice and is putting pressure on Hillary Clinton.

amazon link

Disclaimer: I am not an affiliate marketer with Amazon.com. I have provided links to Amazon because Amazon has so much good information about their books, particularly the Look Inside feature and the reviews. I obtain most of the books I read from the fabulous Salt Lake County Library System.

Religious Freedom -- Hillary Clinton says ...

Speaking on April 24, 2015 in New York City Hillary Clinton said that religious beliefs that oppose abortion have to be changed. So, government should have the power to dictate what church members believe? This is not consistent with religious freedom. Here is a link for the story and a video of the entire speech.


https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/hillary-clinton-religious-beliefs-that-oppose-abortion-have-to-be-changed

Mike Lee - All in this together.

Dear Fellow Republicans,

Mike Lee would personally like to invite you to his “All In This Together Tour.” The first of a series of events will take place at The American Preparatory Academy (11938 Lone Peak Pkwy, Draper, UT 84020) on October 13 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. This tour will serve as a conversation about Sen. Mike Lee's Conservative Reform Agenda and how it will work when applied in the lives of all Americans. Many other Republican candidates will be in attendance, including Congresswoman Mia Love. For more details about the event visit our website.

Religious Freedom -- Dr. David Jeremiah

Dr. David Jeremiah is a Baptist pastor, an educator and an author.

In this short clip I like the way he informs us how critical our votes are.

 https://www.facebook.com/myfaithvotes/videos/1100514436650821/?pnref=story

My Faith Votes is a National Organization promoted by Dr. Ben Carson.

I hope they don't mind me sharing this information about them from their Facebook page.

General Information

Our goal is simple: The 25 million registered Christians who did not vote in 2012 will vote in 2016.

When informed Christians vote, they bring a biblical influence to the process of electing leaders. They bring their experiences, beliefs and convictions into the process of making decisions regarding the future leadership and direction of our country. When Christians vote their FAITH transforms the future.

We know this does not happen overnight, or even in one election. This is a long-term and ongoing effort. Yet, with this vision in mind, we are committed to increase the number of Christians who will vote in 2016.

Mission

Because faith matters, MyFaithVotes exists to inspire and motivate Jesus followers to vote. We will rise up as a relevant and non-partisan movement of the Church in America that will motivate believers to act on their faith by casting an informed vote based on a biblical worldview.

Here is a link to their website. https://www.myfaithvotes.org/

When I read their "Pledge to Vote" it gave me goosebumps and a few tears.

PLEDGE TO VOTE THIS NOVEMBER 8, 2016

No longer can we, as believers, afford to be indifferent or assume that, through the actions of others, our nation will be restored. It’s a period in America’s history that’s now calling for more. It calls for the intentional commitment of all 90 million believers, who, united by the conviction of our faith, pledge to vote.

I pledge to vote in every election and that I will:

1. Become informed about my choices
2. Pray faithfully for America and my votes
3. Vote from a biblical worldview

TalkRadio1 -- Mills Crenshaw

Our very own precinct member Mills Crenshaw is a commentator for the worldwide radio channel. Talk Radio 1.

You can listen on the Internet or on any telephone.

Dial 701-801-0829  to listen. Then to be on the air dial 5. For more information go to

http://www.talkradio1.us/

Mills also told me about two exciting events for the Salt Lake area. All the candidates from all the parties are invited to come and address the group. The purpose is to reach out to the independent voter.

October 14, 2016 --  Bring your guns and your bibles and meet on the steps of the State Capitol Building. (Utah is an open carry state and this event has been approved.)

October 15, 2016 -- Meet at the South Towne Expo Center for a repeat of the same.

Healthcare Freedom - Information from Ken Ivory

Here is some good information about the issue of Healthcare Freedom in Utah. I hope it will help us study this important issue. It looks like Ken Ivory has put together a great campaign website.

Vote Ivory Healthcare Freedom

Religious Freedom -- AMAR Foundation and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

An important political issue is religious freedom.

The National Platform of the Republican Party strongly endorses religious freedom and our First Amendment rights. The Church News of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for September 18, 2016 was full of articles about religious freedom.

The cover story told of Elder Holland of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles participating in talks about religious persecution at Windsor Castle in England.

The AMAR Foundation http://www.amarfoundation.org/ held a five-day conference September 10-14 titled "Religious Persecution: The Driver of Forced Migration." Baroness Emma Nicholson is the founder and chair of AMAR an international relief organization.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave two addresses at the conference. The first was September 11 and was about "a tragic problem that has for a very long time been a largely invisible part of war and conflict -- sexual violence against. women."  Religious freedom is at the very heart of empowerment. Elder Holland cited recent research which "correlates religious freedom with fewer incidents of armed conflict, high levels of health and earned income and better educational opportunities for women."

The second address given September 14 was about the Mormon refugee experience. Elder Holland said, " I do not pretend that my people's experiences are the same as we see happening today." But there are principles that can be learned from the Mormon experience that will be helpful to the relief being administered to present day refugees. One principle is that the religion and culture of the refugees needs to be respected. It is important that refugees who have lost so much do not also lose their cultural and religious identity.

Religious Freedom -- Father Michael Orsi Speaking in Naples, Florida

It is illegal for churches to endorse candidates. President Lyndon Johnson established this regulation. The National Republican Party Platform wants to change this and Donald Trump spoke about changing the law in his acceptance speech. This speech is worth listening to. Father Morsi does not mention any candidates by name. He gives examples from history where churches did not stand up and speak out. He says, "We are in a battle for the soul of America."

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/priest-you-might-not-have-a-church-to-go-to-if-you-dont-vote-the-right-way?utm_source=LifePetitions+petition+signers&utm_campaign=1db0b42bfc-Petitions_Catholic_9_309_30_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c5c75ce940-1db0b42bfc-400452413

An Honest Discussion about a Difficult Election

This looks very interesting. It is Tuesday October 4, 2016 at 5:00 PM MDT. Here is the link: myfaithvotes.org/honestdiscussion

MY FAITH VOTES

in partnership with The Florida Family Policy Council & LifeBridge Church presents An Honest Discussion About A Difficult Election Date: OCT 4TH Time: 7PM (ET) / 4PM (PT) Tuesday evening, October 4th at approximately 7PM (ET) / 4PM (PT) My Faith Votes will be live streaming “An Honest Discussion About A Difficult Election." The event will focus on how Jesus followers are to choose to vote even when the choices aren’t clear. ." Confirmed speakers include: Bob Vander Plaats (President and CEO of Iowa's The Family Leader), Bishop Harry Jackson (The Reconciled Church, HILC),  Bill Wichterman (Former White House Liaison to the Faith Community under President George W. Bush), Pastor Clayton Cloer (First Baptist Church of Central Florida), and John Stemberger (President and General Counsel of the Florida Family Policy Council). To participate in the event and view it LIVE from your device, visit My Faith Votes and add a calendar reminder so you don't miss this event. If you live in the area and would like to attend in person, be sure to register for the community forum. Admission is free. My Faith Votes exists to inspire and motivate Jesus followers to vote. We are a non-partisan movement of the Church in America. An Honest Discussion About A Difficult Election Date: OCT 4TH Time: 7PM (ET) / 4PM (PT)