Mormon Beliefs Will Gradually Permeate the Government if Romney is President

I've read several articles by ex-Mormons who tell of the plan within that religion to become much more influential over the U.S. government.  Their first goal is to get a Mormon into the White House.  Then he will follow the bidding of "the elders" to whom no Mormon ever says No. Have you noticed that no matter which religion they are, the Republican presidential contenders want church and state to be melded together? To hell with the Constitution (which they claim to revere above all else.  Go figure!  Nothing they do or say makes any sense).

This whole thing about denying women insurance coverage for birth control prescriptions is a throwback to caveman times. (Hmmm..isn't Viagra prescribed and covered by insurance? Oh yes, but MEN need that!)  And the demand for a non-optional vaginal probe ultrasound for every women seeking an abortion reveals for all to see how right wingers really view women. You have to wonder if a non-optional anal probe or penis probe were required for men to obtain their insurance-covered Viagra, how many male votes would that get in Congress?  What kind of rage would rise up in males across the country in protest to such a thing?  Yet, Republican males think nothing of making such intrusive demands on women--and believe it is just fine to exclude women from Congressional hearings on the subject of birth control for women.  They don't believe in abortion and they don't want women to use birth control, which would be the greatest prevention of abortion.  By any practical standard, the far right wing is certifiably insane.  And dangerously so.  Read on:

THE GOP: IT ONLY GETS MORE AND MORE DANGEROUS
By Stephen Pizzo

Like you, I've been watching this curious spectacle of grown up Republicans tripping all over one another to embrace a 1950s attitude toward women and birth control.

The latest to support this backwards march is Mitt Romney, who came late to the game. Of course Mitt always waits to see which way the wind is blowing before he plants his feet and stakes a claim to whatever the hell appears popular at any point in time.

But then former Mormon Bishop Mitt has a lot of experience when it comes to saying one thing while doing - and profiting - from just the opposite.

Before I explain where I am going with this, a question; Have you ever spent any time in Salt Lake City? If not you've missed a place extremely important to see and experience. SLC, and Utah itself, is as close to a theocratic state you'll see in America. (And, may I add, I hope we ever see.)

Mormons have a of lot rules they claim were handed down straight from the Big Guy itself to their felonious little guy, Joseph Smith. And, since in Utah, Mormons rule, many of those rules tend to find their way into state and local laws. With such a high percentage of Utah's resident-members being practicing Mormons, the laws are passed and defended on the same grounds as the current GOP conception debacle: that religious folk should not be forced to provide products and services they consider "sinful."

Chief among the devil's products and services in Utah is booze. It's verboten. Well, okay, conditionally verboten. If the Mormon "church" is about anything, it's about making money. So you can buy alcohol in Utah. If you want a bottle of gin to make life in SLC bearable, you can buy it, but from a state monopoly - a state liquor store. I went into one of these stores in SLC and was bowled over. It was the size of our local Costco warehouse store. Within these state-sanctioned confines you can buy sin by the case - anything from 3% beer to 100 proof rotgut to the finest brandy on the planet.

And, like all cases where someone has a monopoly, you will pay more - up to 30% more than in California, for example. (To reinforce, apparently, the message that sin, while fun, comes at a high price.)

The Mormon-manipulated Utah legislature seems to have no problem accepting the windfall from the sale of all this Satan-juice. (In fact, sales of booze in Utah is up 60%, according to the Salt Lake City Tribune) So, in all, the theocratic state of Utah raked in over $100 million from alcohol sales in 2010. For a Republican, free enterprise loving state, it seems some socialism is just fine. (As long as it lines the pockets of the rulers)

Of course Mormons are known for their entrepreneurial skills, and there are plenty of Mormon-owned bars and restaurants in SLC. So, it should not come as a surprise that the anti-booze laws have been crafted in such a way that these business owners are allowed to dip their beaks into the alcohol sales pot - but not without masking it with a bit of religious-disapproval-theater.

During a visit to SLC a few years ago we decided to go out to a nice restaurant for dinner. We sat down and ordered a pre-dinner mixed drink. Everything was normal, as in normal 21st century America, until that point. This is where you feel the hand of Mormon first. Even if you're 98-years old, in wheel chair and on oxygen, the server must demand to see your ID to confirm you are over 21. Then, while they will take your drink order, you will not get your drink until the dinner is served. Because, under Utah law, mixed drinks must only be consumed with the meal, not before, not after.

Silly? Of course. But religion is a show and the show must go on.

I only mention this because, if right wingers get what they say they want on this whole birth control/religious rights nonsense, this is the kind of world it will thrust upon all American women. If they Utah-ize contraception sale laws, walking into a drug store to fill a contraception prescription will become a kind of humiliating game of Russia Roulette: "Sorry Ma'am, we don't sell THAT kind of thing here."

Off to the next drug store.

And be assured, when you do find a drug store that sells contraceptives, there will almost certainly be additional doses of humiliation on tap. "Photo ID please," and "Please fill out this form explaining that you have been advised of all the health risks," and, "Do you have a signed note from your doctor showing he has performed a pelvic exam during the last calendar year?"

Some states, like Utah -- and take your pick of any other red state -- will almost certainly decide, if allowed by law to do so, that contraceptives are dangerous (aka, sinful) like booze, and should be sold like some kind of controlled substance. Only at drug stores specially licensed will be allowed to sell them only, of course, after women are forced to jump through the appropriate number of humiliating hoops. (The little "sluts')

The number of such authorized contraceptive outlets in any given area might be allocated on a formula - one-store-for every 25,000 residents -- for example. Such limits would be proposed and supported on the grounds that young girls and boys need to be protected from the temptations presented by easily acquired rubbers and pills and such.

If you think this is all hysterically implausible, spend a couple of weeks in Salt Lake City. Then get back to me.