The Hunger Games books and movie

I'm on my second time through The Hunger Games Trilogy (book 2 as we speak). And the movie is being shot. There are grumblings about some of the casting choices.

Back with more later on.

Politics and Religious Intolerance

Poor Jon Huntsman he's found himself the target of many Mormons thanks to his answer about his membership in the Mormon church asked by Melinda Henneberger. This is the part of the interview that has members in an uproar.

And as for whether or not Huntsman still belongs to the Church of Latter-day Saints, I know less than I did before I asked him. ("I'm a very spiritual person," as opposed to a religious one, he says, "and proud of my Mormon roots." Roots? That makes it sound as if you're not a member anymore. Are you? "That's tough to define," he says. "There are varying degrees. I come from a long line of saloon keepers and proselytizers, and I draw from both sides.")

I've been more sympathetic than most (of course, I'm liberal)and I live in Utah. Idaho, parts of Arizona and Nevada are the same. I think our rural areas fall into a twisted dogma that can be a caricature of what the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ truly is intended to be as restored by Joseph Smith. There was a question that made it's way to facebook "How would YOU answer the question in Huntsman's position?" This was my answer:

I think he did answer it well. Now days being Mormon IS hard to define. All around me I see people who find things in shade of black and white and I'm not just talking about racists. I'm often surprised that people don't stumble in testimony meeting and say that they know that Glenn Beck is the true prophet. I see little tolerance and a lot of judgement. More people in my area identify with the Tea Party. THAT'S religious to them. It's not an easy question and honestly it's practically political suicide.

Then a guy posted the most EXCELLENT OP ED:
Some LDS Conservatives Worship Political Dogma

The real question is, have you always been so comfortable with your actions that you are okay with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints to be judged by YOUR actions?

Affirmation (Savage Garden)

Always loved these lyrics:

Affirmation lyrics

I believe the sun should never set upon an argument
I believe we place our happiness in other people's hands
I believe that junk food tastes so good because it's bad for you
I believe your parents did the best job they knew how to do
I believe that beauty magazines promote low self esteem
I believe I'm loved when I'm completely by myself alone

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

I believe you can't control or choose your sexuality
I believe that trust is more important than monogamy
I believe your most attractive features are your heart and soul
I believe that family is worth more than money or gold
I believe the struggle for financial freedom is unfair
I believe the only ones who disagree are millionaires

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

I believe forgiveness is the key to your own happiness
I believe that wedded bliss negates the need to be undressed
I believe that God does not endorse TV evangelists
I believe in love surviving death into eternity

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

President Obama's 60 Minutes Interview

Great interview after the operation that took out Osama bin Laden. Now knowing how long the president knew this was going down it explains his release of the long form birth certificate. I thought that it would be a good way to sweep the legs out beneath the more insane candidates running for president in 2012 but it turns out that a little reverse psychology on the media goes a looooong way. It definitely sent them on a wild goose chase while the top secret mission was going down and I'm sure he knew that it would. I can't help but laugh at the fact that the breaking news announcement interrupting Celebrity Apprentice.

Anyway, Here's the interview:



Full Transcript

Terrorist Intel Motherlode

It's been a week since Osama Bin Laden was killed and apparently his Pakistani hideout contained a wealth of information described as the size of "a small college library". From what I've seen we know the following:

We took bin Laden out mid mid-life crisis. He dyed his beard dark brown and could sit for hours watching himself on TV. Did he WATCH the videos he took of himself watching himself on TV??? And why didn't anyone tell him that yellow didn't flatter him?

His plans for attack were on big US cities on holidays where crowds gathered in public places.

He planned to recruit minorities to divide the nation. To encourage mistrust of anyone different. Didn't he watch FOX News?? The GOP and Tea Party has been doing that for over four years!!!!

He documented the names, addresses, and phone numbers of other players within the Taliban network. I'm guessing they will quickly move to make sure they are not easily tracked down.

Now we're left wondering who we can trust. Are we providing aid to a country that knowingly hid bin Laden from us? All eyes are on Pakistan now to see if they are with us or against us.

And from the people who brought you "101 reasons why waterboarding isn't torture" we have "Was killing Osama bin Laden illegal?" Whose campaign slogan will THAT be? I'm betting Palin.

Happy Mother's Day

It's nice to be reminded what you've done RIGHT!! This year for Mother's day my child count is up to 6. Two that I birthed my very own self and 4 have adopted me. I love them all and appreciate their appreciation!!

I couldn't ask for better people in my life. My daughters are my best friends and so thoughtful. I'm grateful for my husband too. I'm blessed to have such a wonderful family. I love them so very much :)

Osama bin Laden is dead

It's been a long time coming and sooooo many unnecessary deaths. The following is a compilation on the search for the devil himself:

Clinton administration

Capturing Osama bin Laden had been an objective of the United States government since the presidency of Bill Clinton. Shortly after the September 11 attacks it was revealed that President Clinton had signed a directive authorizing the CIA (and specifically their elite Special Activities Division) to apprehend bin Laden and bring him to the United States to stand trial after the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Africa; if taking bin Laden alive was deemed impossible, then deadly force was authorized. On August 20, 1998, 66 cruise missiles launched by United States Navy ships in the Arabian Sea struck bin Laden's training camps near Khost in Afghanistan, narrowly missing him by a few hours. In 1999 the CIA, together with Pakistani military intelligence, had prepared a team of approximately 60 Pakistani commandos to infiltrate Afghanistan to capture or kill bin Laden, but the plan was aborted by the 1999 Pakistani coup d'état; in 2000, foreign operatives working on behalf of the CIA had fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a convoy of vehicles in which bin Laden was traveling through the mountains of Afghanistan, hitting one of the vehicles but not the one in which bin Laden was riding.

In 2000, prior to the September 11 attacks, Paul Bremer characterized the Clinton administration as "correctly focused on bin Laden", while Robert Oakley criticized their "obsession with Osama".

Bush administration

According to The Washington Post, the US government concluded that Osama bin Laden was present during the Battle of Tora Bora, Afghanistan in late 2001, and according to civilian and military officials with first-hand knowledge, failure by the US to commit enough US ground troops to hunt him led to his escape and was the gravest failure by the US in the war against al Qaeda. Intelligence officials have assembled what they believe to be decisive evidence, from contemporary and subsequent interrogations and intercepted communications, that bin Laden began the battle of Tora Bora inside the cave complex along Afghanistan's mountainous eastern border.

The Washington Post also reported that the CIA unit composed of their special operations paramilitary forces dedicated to capturing Osama was shut down in late 2005.

US and Afghanistan forces raided the mountain caves in Tora Bora between August 14–16, 2007. The military was drawn to the area after receiving intelligence of a pre-Ramadan meeting held by al Qaeda members. After killing dozens of al Qaeda and Taliban members, they did not find either Osama bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, US government officials named bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda organization as the prime suspects and offered a reward of $25 million for information leading to his capture or death. On July 13, 2007, this figure was doubled to $50 million.

The Airline Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association had offered an additional $2 million reward.

Obama administration

Members of the Obama administration track the mission that killed bin Laden

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said in December 2009 that officials had had no reliable information on Bin Laden's whereabouts for years. One week later, General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said in December 2009 that al-Qaeda will not be defeated unless its leader, Osama Bin Laden, is captured or killed. Testifying to the U.S. Congress, he said bin Laden had become an "iconic figure, whose survival emboldens al-Qaeda as a franchising organization across the world", and that Obama's deployment of 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan meant that success would be possible. "I don't think that we can finally defeat al-Qaeda until he's captured or killed", McChrystal said of Bin Laden. "Killing or capturing bin Laden would not spell the end of al-Qaeda, but the movement could not be eradicated while he remained at large."

In April 2011, Obama approved an operation to capture bin Laden. On May 1, 2011 (23:30 EDT), Obama released a statement saying that American forces had killed bin Laden.



During the Bush administration:

...As the months and years went by after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- and Bush’s initial bluster about capturing the al Qaeda leader “dead or alive” became a source of embarrassment -- Bush began to insist that bin Laden himself wasn’t so very important.

"I truly am not that concerned about him," Bush said at a White House press conference on March 13, 2002. And of course the following March, he shifted America’s focus to Iraq, which proved to be a gigantic diversion.

The intelligence on WOM was invented to justify the war in Iraq. Intelligence that was invented and GW Bush admitted it. The intelligence from the CIA and Pakistani government proved to be real and Obama acted quickly. Our country and every other country who lived in terror should be thanking President Obama and the brave troops, foreign and domestic. The former presidents have.



George W. Bush:

"Earlier this evening, President Obama called to inform me that American forces killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda network that attacked America on September 11, 2001. I congratulated him and the men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to this mission. They have our everlasting gratitude. This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done."



Bill Clinton:

"This is a profoundly important moment not just for the families of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and in al-Qaida's other attacks but for people all over the world who want to build a common future of peace, freedom, and cooperation for our children.

I congratulate the President, the National Security team and the members of our armed forces on bringing Osama bin Laden to justice after more than a decade of murderous al-Qaida attacks."



Even John McCain:

"I am overjoyed that we finally got the world's top terrorist. The world is a better and more just place now that Osama bin Laden is no longer in it. I hope the families of the victims of the September 11th attacks will sleep easier tonight and every night hence knowing that justice has been done. I commend the President and his team, as well as our men and women in uniform and our intelligence professionals, for this superb achievement.



"But while we take heart in the news that Osama bin Laden is dead, we must be mindful that al-Qaeda and its terrorist allies are still lethal and determined enemies, and we must remain vigilant to defeat them."

So seriously unfair.

When I was 15 a very wild boy moved to my town. He was 17 and frankly he was hell on wheels. Maybe that was why I found him irresistible from day one. He gave me my very first kiss. He drove like a mad man but to this day I've never seen one better to this day. He taught me something much more important and I've never forgotten it. I watched him be judged and treated so unfairly that he didn't stand a chance at being accepted. No one took the time to see the good in him but me. I knew it was in him, I watched him try to make amends but a town full of people had found him guilty at first sight. I certainly wouldn't want my beliefs to be judged by that.

Anyway I've talked to him on and off throughout the years. He has three kids and two of them are the same age as my kids. His oldest, his only daughter, was in a car accident and had to have brain surgery. She nearly died and to this day she's not regained full brain activity. Now his 16 y/o son has cancer. They fought it and thought it was gone but it's back and it's in his bones. I don't know what that means and my friend can only talk about it in small doses. I can't see how this boy can fight it. My friend thinks it's some sort of karma for the things he did as a teen. I think if that's how that worked the whole town that judged him would be sick.

I'm at a crossroads with my headache. I find no relief and so I've sat down and refuse to choose a path. No surgery, but no stronger meds. It's not going away and honestly death would be kinder for everyone. I would take my old boyfriend's son's cancer. I mean that. it's not empty words. I would take it gladly.