POSTED // Nov 12,2008 - We’re No. 3nOklahoma and Wyoming now rank ahead of Utah in the competition for most red state, following the Nov. 4 election. Both states gave a greater share of votes to McCain than Utah. The Republican presidential candidate won Utah with a paltry 29 percent margin. That compares to the 45.5 victory Utah gave George W. in his last go-round. It takes a magnifying glass to see it, but the U...

POSTED // Nov 12,2008 - In light of all the confusion surrounding the Brethren’s opposition to so-called “gay” marriage, my colleagues on the Council of Twelve have asked me, in my role as Cultural Attaché and Ambassador at Large for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to set the record straight with regard to the aforesaid opposition to marriage between homo-ites of either the male ...

POSTED // Nov 12,2008 - nPlans to punish the LDS Church for its hardcore, inhuman support of California’s Proposition 8 through a tourism boycott of Utah are likely to backfire (see Private Eye). Still, that church has to be slapped somehow. Problem is, how do you boycott a church? n nThere’s one very good way, if you’re one of the many individuals who have “fallen away,” as they say: R...

POSTED // Nov 12,2008 - n nEight review quotes for David Archuleta, the debut album from Utah’s American Idol runner-up, released this week:n8. “My boss told me to say that it’s fabulous!” (The Salt Lake Tribune) n7. “My bishop told me to say that it’s fabulous!” (Deseret News) n6. “It’s fabulous!” (MormonTimes.com) n5. “Crunk beats, dope lyrics-just...

POSTED // Nov 12,2008 - nSince California voters passed Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriage in their state, local gay-rights advocates are now holding the LDS Church to its claims that it supports other benefits for gay individuals other than marriage, by asking the church to support upcoming legislation for gay equity in housing, health benefits and employment. City Weekly asked Ryan Hahn of Rudy’s Key &...

POSTED // Nov 12,2008 - nDenver-based Jane Page directed Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing at the Babcock Theatre (located below Pioneer Theatre at the U of U, 300 S. 1400 East, KingTix.com), with performances Nov. 13-16 at 7:30 p.m. (Saturday, Nov. 15, matinee at 2 p.m.). nnAs director of last summer’s Taming of the Shrew at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, you set the play in post-World War II Italy. Your...

POSTED // Nov 5,2008 - Today, you have a new president. First order of business for the new guy?nDerek Carlisle: Stand in front of the U.S. Presidential Seal and say something intelligent. Oh, God, my eyes are already swelling. nnTed Scheffler: Get some sleep and shut the hell up! You’ve been sleep-deprived and yakking for way too long. nnJesse James Burnitt: Get out of Iraq, Afghanistan and anywhere else our gree...

POSTED // Nov 5,2008 - Nineteen-year-old Cole Hartley didn’t know what to make of me, this random person wrapped in rain gear who jumped him as he exited the West Jordan Public Library on Election Day. nHe was peeling off the back of his “I Voted” sticker and about to slap it on his chest when I asked him if he wanted to discuss his vote. n“Not really,” he said. I told him he didn’t n...

POSTED // Nov 5,2008 - Helping HandsnWith Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. cheerleading, Utah businesses and aid agencies are reaching out to help residents who have lost jobs or homes to the economic crisis. United Way of Utah recently announced the Neighbor-to-Neighbor program hoping to quickly raise $5 million to help families in crisis. Seeded with money from the LDS Church, the initiative will provide community grants to hel...

POSTED // Nov 5,2008 - My good friend and former missionary companion, Willard “Mitt” Romney, got the jump on everyone for the 2012 presidential election. The polls were barely closed when Mitt bounded up onto the stage at Gallivan Plaza to toss his hat into the ring. Just a few of the local news outlets covered the occasion, but in the days to come, the footage will get a lot of play on the national network...