This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I was riding to work on TRAX on Thursday morning when, at the Gallivan Center stop about 8:30 a.m., I noticed a man staggering across Main Street and suddenly collapsing on the tracks going the other way. He lay there motionless while passengers who had just departed the train walked along the crosswalk, ignoring him.
I let out a little yell when I saw him fall, which caused several passengers to look at me oddly. I tried to open the door, but it was too late. Our train was departing. I tapped on the window and said out loud, a "man just passed out on the tracks." After glancing at me for a moment, the passengers went back to reading their books and texting on their phones.
As our train pulled away, I noticed the man finally got up and staggered away no thanks to anyone else.
Latest conspiracy theory • There are some in our gentle society who simply cannot believe that there really are Mormons who openly support gay rights.
Some were convinced that the 300-plus Mormons Building Bridges marchers at the Pride Parade Sunday are not really Mormons, but plants to make it look like Mormons supporting gays and lesbians. They contacted The Salt Lake Tribune reporter who wrote the story demanding to know if she had asked all 300 for their IDs or any proof they actually were Mormons.
One caller was so irate he called the reporter a "worthless pig."
And just where is that birth certificate?
Speaking of gays and Mormons • The LDS Church has made it clear in recent statements that as long as a gay man holds to the tenets of the church, and remains celibate, there is no reason he cannot fully participate in the church, including positions in his ward like Sunday School teacher and Elders Quorum president.
But with the recent statement by the Boy Scouts of America that it has no immediate plans to alter its ban on gays serving in the Scouts, that means a gay celibate man can perform any job in his LDS ward except that of Scout leader.
Rocky II • Former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson won the presidential primary election in California on Tuesday for the Peace and Freedom Party.
Mitt Romney, of course, won the Republican primary overwhelmingly, but Anderson topped two other candidates on the Peace and Freedom ticket, an amalgam of left-leaning parties, to win those bragging rights.
The primary is nonbinding, with delegates actually selected at the convention. But Anderson won the popularity contest, with 43.4 percent of the vote, compared to 30 percent and 26 percent, respectively, for the second- and third-place finishers.
The Peace and Freedom Party, one of more than a dozen third-party entries on the ballot, garnered a total of about 3,000 votes.
Bipartisan support • Could K-Talk Radio be going rogue, or (dare I say) fair and balanced?
The talk-radio station at 630 AM on the dial has a format dominated by conservative commentary.
But starting Saturday, Democratic State Chairman Jim Dabakis will have his own weekly show from 10 a.m. to noon.
The liberal-leaning show will follow the established Red Meat Radio, which features as co-hosts conservative Republican legislators, Sen. Howard Stephenson and Rep. Greg Hughes, both of Draper.
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," said Hughes, who said he welcomes the liberal Dabakis on the station. The two shows will offer a stark contrast in views back-to-back each Saturday morning.
Dabakis, a veteran talk-show radio host on K-TALK before he began an art and export-import business several years ago, said his show will be different from Red Meat Radio, which he sees as promoting a certain dogma dominated by guests who agree with the hosts.
"I want to have diverse points of view," he said. "People who disagree with me are welcome to call and will be treated respectfully."
He plans to have a different co-host each week.