Soap Box: Feb. 9-15 

News, Feb. 9, "Meet the Muslims"
Subhanallah.
Hamid Mehkri
Via Facebook

1. Allah in the name of The Most Affectionate, the Merciful.
2. All praise unto Allah, Lord of all the worlds.
3. The most Affectionate, The Merciful.
4. Master of the Day of Requital.
5. We worship You alone, and beg You alone for help.
6. Guide us in the straight path.
7. The path of those whom You have favored. Not of those who have earned Your anger and nor of those who have gone astray.
Please educate yourself correctly. Don't translate it with your own meaning. Go see imam to elaborate.
Kyrul Ezam
Via cityweekly.net

Opinion, Feb. 9, "Nazis and Vaginas"
By all means, feel as hopeful about a Trump presidency (see, I didn't call him Orange Hitler even though I wanted to) as you want. I'm going to take a wild guess that you are Caucasian and heterosexual. So, yeah, most of what he is spouting won't affect you. Do you have any LGBTQ friends? How about a friend who is black or brown? If you do, have you engaged them in conversation? Have you listened to their fears? I would highly recommend you do so you can understand why half of this country is not feeling hopeful for the future. And while you are at it, why don't you adopt a child or two because, at the rate this regime is going, we will have an abundance of babies who need a home.
Lesli Baker,
Murray

Straight Dope, Feb. 9, "PTSD Past"
With our military reduced to 30-something Reserves and National Guards being deployed, many with wives, children and greater awareness of the world, today's soldiers have a much closer tie to the "enemy" they are destroying, plus many see that their "honorable" service is probably just for political quarrels and corporate profits.
Joe Schmidt
Via Facebook

Please stop sending our boys thousands of miles away to fight in stupid wars against religious nut cases.
Kerry Knowles
Via Facebook

Blog post, Feb. 10, "Bigamy offense bill draws crowd to Capitol"
I support polygamy 100 percent as long as all parties involved are willing and consenting to the relationship. Love is love is love, people! Just because it isn't our personal choice doesn't mean it is wrong.
Nicole Bell
Via Facebook

It's oppressive to women altogether. Whether they are willing participants or not. Therefore it should not be legal—by any means.
Dominick Caputo
Via Facebook

Playing devil's advocate, I did a research project on polygamist relationships, and they can be quite beneficial. Granted they're not for everyone, but why not make it available for those who do believe in it and want to practice it? We're free to choose so many things, like religion, careers, where we want to live, etc. Why not have the freedom to choose what kind of relationship we want to be in? I can see how it poses a problem for those who abuse it and marry underage children, but make it legal and it might decrease some of these problems?
Kristal Bullock
Via Facebook

Oh dear. I think my prejudice just cannot get behind this. This is a subject I am not open-minded on. I do believe that it's not a great environment for children, but couples can have shitty homes, too. My biggest issue is having children one after another without enough money. Government assistance for people unable to use sound judgment on family planning shouldn't be an option.
Aubre Williams
Via Facebook

Marry a toaster for all I care. None of my business. Have my hands full with my own life.
Michelle Garcia
Via Facebook

Not my (blank)
I have been trying to deal with saying the two words, "president" and "Trump," together. But Mr. Trump has provided a glorious solution—a third word to be used in conjunction with federal officials, "so-called." I now joyously can combine this third word and it doesn't bother me nearly so much. "So-called president Trump" sounds so much better.
Robert Jacobs,
Cottonwood Heights

Open letter to Rep. Chaffetz
I am not in your district, but I could be. I have seen the clips from the town hall meeting last week, and, while I give you points for showing up, those points plus more get subtracted for your statements that the meeting was full of "paid protestors." ...
      Here's the problem: We didn't ask for this. We didn't ask to have our voices gerrymandered away from us. We didn't ask to feel powerless and helpless knowing that, no matter what you do or say in office, we really can't vote you out. ...
      It is clear that you care more for your own position and power than you care about the security and safety of American democracy. But I hope you keep this thought in your back pocket and that it works its way into your soul: Your reign will [eventually] end. The choices you are making right now will dictate how history remembers you.
Joan Lind,
Salt Lake City

The Candyman
Last year, Chaffetz said, "Let me loose," promising to be "a kid in a candy store" investigating potential conflicts of interest in the event of a Trump presidency.
      Today, Utahns are sending the congressman a whole store's worth of candy to remind him to follow through with an investigation. Bulk candy costs $10-$20 for a box; please consider making your own contribution. We are coordinating to make our purchases today, while Chaffetz is still on the radar for his town hall. Join us! The more "gifts," the louder the message. Here are the details:
      1. Buy a large amount of candy to ship to Chaffetz' office (51 S. University Ave., Ste. 318, Provo, UT 84601).
      2. Make it a gift, and in the message, say something like, "Congressman Chaffetz, in June 2016, you said you'd be like a kid in a candy store investigating Trump. Here's the candy. Now dig in! Do the right thing and do us proud. With love, The American Public."
      3. Take a screenshot of the checkout screen.
      4. Tweet and share the screenshot on Facebook (using public settings if possible), and share within political groups, using the hashtag #sendchaffetzcandy.
Erin Bean
Via Facebook