Summary: This is an analysis of the similarities and differences of the two main political parties, at least on paper according to their platform statements. Both parties are for a strong economy, education, and healthcare. Democrats stand out in their support for clean energy, the climate, minority rights, and opposition to the other party. Republicans […]
Last week, during our family’s morning scripture study, I was reviewing with my children some highlights from President Nelson’s January Liahona article called, Grow into the Principle of Revelation. In the article, Pres. Nelson quotes the Lord from D&C 88:63 which says, “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently […]
Skip to the bottom if you want the lessons learned and the pictures and videos from the drone. But if you want the whole story, here it is… For my most recent birthday, I decided to splurge and get a toy that would be fun for me and the kids. Usually, I tell Heather not […]
“Is There a Monkey on My Back?” is a short story I wrote for my kids in December 2016. A year later, my daughter Hannah Smith added the illustrations. I write a lot, usually, though, it is on topics such as digital marketing or politics. I know that good writing takes a lot of time, […]
Summary: Word clouds from each of the major parties’ 2020 presidential candidate websites, joebiden.com and donaldjtrump.com, reveal much about the candidates, their messaging and tactics, and what they feel will motivate the American voters. And as an added bonus, I do a brief SEO analysis of the candidates websites. Word clouds can be a fun […]
In the church and in politics, we often hear about the need to defend religious freedom. Still, many people wonder, is this happening now or is this a warning about what could happen in the future? Is our freedom of religion being taken away? If so, in what way is our religious freedom being impeded? […]
In 2016, I was not a Trump fan, but in the four years since then, I have slowly turned from an opponent to a solid supporter who will pull the lever and vote for Trump for President in 2020. The following is my explanation of the evolution of how and why that transition happened as […]
Earlier this year I finally turned off Google as my primary search engine. I have been considering it for a long time because of concerns around privacy and manipulated search results. The bottom line is that Google has a socialist, progressive world view with which I strongly disagree and the evidence is clear that they […]
In early June 2020, I received an invitation to attend an online “conversation on racism and racial inequality.” This was just a week after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer–a week that saw riots in many major cities across the United States. Cries for racial equality and “black […]
I was listening to the Glenn Beck show the other day when one of his guests said that the silent majority needs to stop being so afraid and start speaking up. I would consider myself in the so-called silent majority–at least I hope rational, freedom-loving people like myself are in the majority. If you pay […]
This is a presentation I made many years ago at one of the first RootsTech conferences put on by the FamilySearch department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in February 2011. At the time, I was working as the Web Analytics Product Manager for the Church. They must have been desperate for […]
Summary:In my time of need, when I lost my job, the one institution that came to my aid was not church or government, it was the family–the program instituted by God that works phenomenally well and does so without taxes, without bureaucracy, and without compulsion. The best form of welfare comes from the family and […]