Could a Romney ballot write-in give Obama the State of Utah in November? I predict late summer we’ll see a grass-roots campaign calling for this. A solid Romney write-in will devastate McCain’s chances to take Utah, despite Governor Huntsman’s best efforts to the contrary (avid McCain supporter). Will Romney discourage this? Certainly if he gets the VP spot. . . .

The Catholic Church has just ordered all dioceses to not give ancestral information in parishes to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here’s a quote from the Vatican:

“The congregation requests that the conference notifies each diocesan bishop in order to ensure that such a detrimental practice is not permitted in his territory, due to the confidentiality of the faithful and as not to cooperate with the erroneous practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, came to the Mormon Church’s defense:

CNS quotes Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, as saying he didn’t understand why the LDS church was singled out by the Vatican letter. “We have a policy not to give out baptismal records to anyone unless they are entitled to have them,” Msgr. Fitzgerald told CNS. “That isn’t just for the Church of the Latter-day Saints. That is for all groups.”

The Catholic Church is being a little shortsighted. There are many reasons for doing family history work that have nothing to do with religion. The Huntsman Cancer Institute, for example, selected Utah for its research center because of all the family history records available in the state. The Mormon Church has done a lot of good by gathering all these records for anyone to reference. Alex Haley, who won the Pulitzer for his book Roots, got all his research from the Mormon Church. All the Vatican is really doing is preventing people (regardless of their religion) from finding out about their heritage.

I’d love to hear people’s thoughts on this.

http://rebelvirals.com/facebook/index.html

Richard Hanks, former EVP at Marriott and current President of Mindshare Technologies, has written an incredible book that addresses the current state of customer service, and how companies can ride out a looming recession by enhancing the customer experience. Full disclosure: Rich Hanks is a client of mine, and launching this book has been an amazing experience.

Stephen Covey calls Delivering and Measuring Customer Service: This isn’t Rocket Surgery, “The finest book on customer service I’ve ever read.”

You can see Rich on Fox Business discussing the book here:

Fox Business – Is Customer Service Dead?

The book outlines what companies have continuously gotten wrong with their customers, as well as the steps they should be taking to build relationships and drive revenue, including actually listening and reacting to customers.  It’s already been endorsed by some of the biggest executive names in the world including: Clayton M. Christensen, Harvard professor and bestselling author, William R. Tiefel, chairman of CarMax and chairman emeritus of The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, David Neeleman, founder and chairman of Jet Blue, Nolan D. Archibald, chairman and CEO of Black & Decker, and many others.

More information can be found at www.duffroad.com

Quite a milestone, my blog was the number 1 hit in Google for the Snoop Dogg Mormon thing.  Just this post has received 20,229 hits as of today. Cool.

The winner of the April Fools jokes goes to:

Rapper Snoop Dogg converts to Mormonism

By Aaron Nichols

CNN

DIAMOND BAR, California (AP) — In what some may consider an unexpected move, rap artist “Snoop Dogg” has reportedly converted to Mormonism after nearly a year of study with the fast-growing, Utah-based faith.

Snoop Dogg says he “can’t get enough of the Book of Mormon.”

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Snoop Dogg — whose real name is Calvin Broadus — said he considers himself extremely fortunate to have discovered such a deep sense of spiritual fulfillment at this stage in his life.

“Mr. Broadus is also very pleased to find that his family is as enthusiastic about attending church services as he is,” the spokeswoman said.

However, Snoop Dogg has not been enthusiastic about publicly sharing his experience and declined to be interviewed by CNN for this article. In fact, he reportedly informed producers of his E! reality show “Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood” that this particular aspect of his family’s life was off-limits to the cameras. Still, he left open the possibility of addressing the subject in future episodes.

According to the Associated Press, Snoop Dogg was first introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormon Church is officially known, after attending a Gladys Knight concert in an LDS meeting house in Los Angeles.

Knight, who very publicly discusses her conversion to Mormonism several years ago, invited Snoop Dogg to what is known to the Mormon faithful as “Family Home Evening,” a church program that encourages families to set aside Monday evenings for gospel-centered lessons and family togetherness.

Though Snoop Dogg has been hesitant to publicly discuss his recent spiritual journey, he commented on the experience of attending his first “Family Home Evening” in a recent interview with People Magazine.

“I was hooked from the start,” Snoop Dogg said. “We talked about the purpose of life, played Mousetrap, and ate brownies. The kids thought it was off the hook, for real.”

In what Snoop Dogg now thinks was anything but a coincidence, Mormon missionaries had knocked on his door just one week before the Knight concert. He said he had initially turned them away because of what he knew about the strict Mormon health code, which prohibits members from smoking, drinking alcohol, and using drugs.

“Y’all know me,” he said grinning broadly. “There were just certain things the old me — the “natural man” — needed to do. And these young guys are telling me that God’s not down with disrespecting ourselves. But it’s cool now.”

Snoop Dogg said his conversion marks the end of his old life, one that included frequent run-ins with the law. Snoop Dogg was convicted in 1990 of cocaine possession and charged with gun possession after a 1993 traffic stop. In 1997, he pleaded guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence.

In 1996, Snoop Dogg was acquitted of murder after a purported gangbanger was killed by gunfire from the vehicle in which Snoop Dogg was traveling.

Snoop Dogg dismisses critics who claim his conversion is intended to placate a Salt Lake County judge, before whom he is appealing an alleged probation violation.

“Listen, the haters will say what they will,” Snoop Dogg said. “I can only do what I feel is right.”

Having fun with this. If you want to follow me, or have me follow you, here I am: twitter.com/alexkoritz

After graduating from Utah State, I went to work for Coltrin & Associates, a hard-driving, New York-based PR firm. There I was thrown into the water, expected to swim, and given every menial task imaginable. As I’ve moved into management over the years, I’ve had to teach and mentor many recent grads. My experience thus far: Some schools, “Branded” schools (tempting, but I’m not going to mention school names), put it into the heads of graduates that upon leaving the workforce, they can enter a company mid-level. They’re too good for the typical grunt work that most ‘newbies’ are asked to do. They’re ready to manage accounts!  I’ve come to call this the “Harvard Syndrome”. That’s not to say that graduates from great and prominent schools can’t exhibit humility and eagerness to learn. But too many of these graduates are extremely difficult to teach and direct. I have a buddy at another agency who will no longer hire grads from certain schools. A “branded” grad versus  a humble and teachable one from a mediocre school? I’ll take the latter every time.

Phil Windley’s latest entry discussing Obama’s book, “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance”, is so insightful I’m just linking to it.

Ferrara: “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position.” “And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”

Well, what’s wrong with that? Isn’t that the American dream, the American way? Americans love to root for the underdog, and being black does make you an underdog. But let’s not forget that Obama is a candidate who has inspired millions across the country. A candidate who creates hope, who is unpaid for by special interests, and who just may unite the country.