Just saw a Fox news preview..

I guess Deseret Book (LDS bookstore) is pulling the Twilight series off of it's shelves. Umm, isn't that like shutting the barn door after the horses are loose? I like to know what is going on with the popular books and know what my kids are reading. I read the entire series and I am the among the most liberal Mormons you'll ever find, but the whole Mormon, BYU grad author thing was a complete fake out. I know people who assume if it's Mormon or BYU branded, it's moral. I was surprised during book one, shocked at book two and horrified by book three. My daughter has shown no interest and I've not encouraged or discouraged. My advice.. Hello Mormon mothers, pay attention! That often is my advice, but sadly people don't recognize that I often know what I'm talking about.
I snagged this post off of KSL's messageboard:

Any Self -respecting mother would be offended that they were on the shelf
Report Comment by Julie M. @ 7:32pm - Wed Apr 22nd, 2009
I felt betrayed that I allowed my Daughter to start reading them because of the hype and "BYU Author." When I found out about the last books honeymoon content I was mortified that I had been duped by the LDS cultral backing. I went to the movie with my daughter to see what all her freinds would be talking about. My Daughter and I felt very uncomfortable seeing the movie. I threw the books in the trash. Not even worth getting money by selling them back. Sneaky way to sell sex to teens. All the unforbidden love is a bunch of crap if he keeps showing up in her room at night with her wearing nothing but underwear. Just because they are married later does not mean it is a free ticket to talk about intimacies and violent ones at that. You know it is coming with the sequels. I know I will get hate responses but I know there are tons of moms out there like me that will back me up. They pulled the books because they probably actually read them and were embarrased to have been representing the Miss SM.[Stepheneie Meyer]

The series and the movie are a dissapointment.

She (the poster) was torn apart, but I totally agree. And for all of the people who are saying that we are okay with witchcraft, but not vampires, and it's all fantasy. It's not the same thing. There is "snogging" in Harry Potter. Those books are not only far better written but J.K. Rowling never took the teen attraction in that direction. She could have but it wasn't critical to the story and she recognized her range. Very admirable. The vampires and werewolf subject isn't what a parent would object to. It started out with him staying in her bedroom to watch her sleep, every night. They did this behind her father's back. Not many father's would be good with that. That was just the beginning... Parents should know, but I personally think that they shouldn't be so ignorant to assume that Mormon author or BYU Grad=A rated-G read.

Why isn't Cheney scared?

Everyone has their panties in a twist because President Obama has had the audacity to bow to Saudi King Abdullah and gave the right wingnuts a new definition for tea bagging. Those crazy conservatives.. They have some serious Freudian issues.

Then he smiled at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

While being an American, propriety dictates that we need not bow to anyone, as we are not their subjects. However, Americans have become increasingly disrespectful. Not only to our own country but on the whole we are, just flat our course, rude, and embarrassing. Showing respect and niceties to leaders of other countries doesn't diminish us. We have a lot of right wing windbags that do that for us all the time. Repairing the damage that was inflicted during the Bush administration isn't traitorous, it's savvy. Offering an olive branch or looking for common ground is one less war we need not engage in. In the mean time can we have a ground hog day, the type holiday where he stays out of site the pops his head out to tell us something basically of no use.

Describing the Bush administration's policy as to "ignore" Chavez, Cheney said that Obama's handshake was "not helpful... You have people all across South America who are watching how we respond." He added, "The president needs to provide leadership... needs to distinguish between good [guys] and bad guys."

Finally, Cheney defended the use of waterboarding and other interrogation techniques, saying, "It worked. It's been enormously valuable in terms of saving lives and preventing another mass casualty attack on the US."

Why is Cheney giving political advice? He is responsible for much of the mess our country is in, so we would listen to his wisdom....WHY??? He lied. If he escapes prosecution for the lies and crimes he committed in office, he still owes the devil his eternal soul. In fact the fictional "War on Terror" and stories of weapons of mass destruction are worthy of Dr. Seuss:
Could the bombs be aimed at Bush?
How convenient he's a lush?
If we look in every tree
will they make our oil free?
We can torture, deny them food
We can stack them when they're nude
Waterboard them til they're dead
It's all okay cause Nixon said...

"If the president does it, it isn't illegal"


To smile and introduce himself as the first sane, intelligent, man to be President in a very long time is actually a great idea. When they don't comprehend that they have a chance to be our allies in a peaceful, dignified manner, they may very well be making the same mistakes that the 3 Somalian pirates made. Plan A: Be our friend. Plan B: Meet our Navy Seals.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada, told CNN on Sunday it was "irresponsible" for Obama to have been seen "laughing and joking" with Chavez.

"This is a person who is one of the most anti-American leaders in the entire world," Ensign said on "State of the Union." "He is a brutal dictator, and human rights violations are very, very prevalent in Venezuela. And you have to be careful."

Hmmm.. Human rights violations. I think we all know that many countries are well known for that. But now WE are. Do you waterboard everyone you know? No, because that would be a human rights violation. I liked the idea that President Obama wasn't prosecuting yet. But he seems to have the 'no duh' idea that has never been addressed in the past. Start at the top, the people who forgot that America was supposed to be better than this. Then work your way down. I also like the idea of a special bipartisan committee being appointed with this investigation. It's going to be something more that our President is criticized on. But, maybe this time we can right the wrongs of political corruption put into action by Nixon/Ford.

So sometimes little things are all you have to salvage a bad day.

So my oldest was at school today and saw one of the boys that is in my Sunday School class. I brought the boys home necklaces with a sharks tooth on it. So my daughter called out his name and said "that's a pretty awesome necklace you've got there." He said "That's some pretty awesome parents you've got there." Awwwwwww! This is the kid who has agreed that when I wander off topic with the Duh Factor or in this last week Scientology, that he'd take the fall for me. Because we all know I'm the one who tries to make the whole world make sense.

My blog.. *sigh* Dramz.

I think the point of my blog has been misconstrued. It is something I share my feelings on. I'm happy to have people disagree with me. My feelings have rocked the boat in my family so I moved it. I see that one or two managed to find it or followed it from the link on my myspace (the ones who have added me which is all but one sister) I notice she is among my most devoted readers. I'm not sure why because we agree on very little. I think the warning at beginning pretty much sums up that this is my place to say whatever I want and being the great country of America I get to do that. It's easy to avoid but if IP block is necessary, I can do that too.
At first I vented, but I realize that many people who so opposed President Obama are going to keep resurrecting the same B.S. It's annoying, amusing and frightening. But he's an eternal optimist and I am going to continue my faith in his choices. Obviously it couldn't be worse than the last administration if you put Bin Laden in office. I have started having to fact check now because I can't just vent. I have to know what I'm talking about now. It takes A LOT longer. Because the readership has grown huge beyond my belief. As I stated a while back I've gotten an international following and I am trying for Antarctica. It's the only continent I lack. The last few posts have been fairly positive and shows many sides of me: what I do, and why I am who I am. I am not a pleasant person, I know that, and become less so all the time. I see my niece read yesterday's blog. I dearly hope she found it on her own, but she didn't follow the link from her Myspace, so HOW she found it....I dunno. The alternative is a bit horrifying to me. I invite everyone to comment your opposing views. I understand hometown loyalty, I feel it too. I waited 'til age 18 to learn about myself and I'm still learning. I hear the gossip out of the town I went to school in and no one could make this stuff up. It seriously out dramas Desperate Housewives. And the point of that blog was that other people see the pretentiousness of the town. They are so competitive that people who came to games from out of town had tires slashed and cars keyed, BY THE ADULTS! It's a long running joke. I thought the joke was funny because it's true, understated, but true. I have self image issues and I always will, but I qualify for Mensa. WAY qualify. The number is high. I didn't get that from HS. I did that on my own and I'm proud of it. I'm guessing it's why the blog is pretty popular and I debate very intelligent people all the time. They always agree on one thing: I'm entitled to my opinion and my disclaimer covers it.
Just remember this: I know who comes here. I know what site you come from or if you have me bookmarked. I also know where you go when you leave. I'm pretty honest here. And a lot smarter than many count on.
Again to my niece: I love you and I miss talking to you. You are the youngest of a bunch of nieces that occasionally come to me to vent. I love you and I think I've always made that very clear to you and I can't begin to describe how beautiful you are and how I love your laugh and your smile. I see when you are sad sometimes and it makes me sad. I didn't gain any self-esteem from your hometown. That is my story. It sounds as if yours is different. You are off to a better start than I was and I won't deny that that was very likely my fault entirely. When you write your story of who you are and why, it will be through different eyes and that is a beautiful thing. But most importantly, I need you to understand that your hometown didn't make me a happy person. That was years before you were born. YOU are beautiful and you make me smile every time I see you. I love you more than I can even tell you.

Hellhole High...

I forgot to tell this story earlier. I've made it clear that I don't want to give out anymore info on where I am, other than I'm in Utah. I suppose that all small towns are to a certain degree, ruts. Some people like that, others feel imprisoned (I'm in between, I'm a small town girl). I have no one person I specifically dislike from Hellhole, Utah (it wasn't the town I grew up in and I call it Hellhole to protect the family and friends who live there). I dislike even driving through there because of resentment that continues to influence me so much. I also admit that I need to let it go, but it definitely shaped me into who I am now. I was introverted, shy, and butt ugly. For six weeks every summer I left to live in the nearby University town, where I lucked into the most amazing part of my young life. I could be myself there. When I left home after high school, to be on my own I was amused to run into people who I knew from high school. They were going to college so they can return to their hometown. They think that this place is Shangri-la. My daughter and I watch the show on TV-land called High School Reunion and when it ended I was curious if it told more about the people after the reunion (this season was the class of '88 from a high school in Az, I think. The same year I graduated.) Many people find it hard to believe that someone can be so scarred STILL, after 20 years. I still feel the resentment so I know it happens. How normal that is, I don't know. I'm guessing these were the people who did well in high school and/or were the people who left the scars. I've noticed they don't remember who they hurt because the number is too high and some people just don't matter to them, even still. I think the high school that I went to was especially unpleasant because they truly don't seem to comprehend that many of the other schools in the division we competed in seriously dislike them. I often wonder if they are expecting the paparazzi to show up one day, roll out the red carpet to see who is dressed in the best name brand clothing that bankruptcy can buy as the whole town attends the HS basketball games. And to really make it in Hellhole society is to land a job as a coach or janitor at the high school. I was invited to go to the prom this year, because my niece is a junior there this year (the whole town comes out to watch the prom. I thought everyone did that, that it was the norm,'til I left)I couldn't make it because I was in Hawaii. I know all along I've mentioned that I'm not being biased when I say my daughters are beautiful and I'm not. I swear if I had an ugly child I'd tell you. This particular niece is freaking hot and I'm not saying it because I love her, it's simply the truth. AND I love her. I remember the first time my husband saw her (we were engaged then). He held her and said "She is going to be a princess." She is. It's not one of the things that help at Hellhole High, not something they value, but when she leaves there I think she'll get it. I hope she is ready for the onslaught of people who recognize who she and what she is, because it will come.
All of this is a long story to just set up something funny that happened a few days ago. My friend took his young kids and my young daughter to his son's improv performance. They were given a word and each actor added a letter like it was a spelling bee but the whole group spelled it out. I believe the word was 'platypus' and for laughs they were throwing in q's and all sorts of off the wall things. When they were done the teacher said "Where did you guys get your diploma, Hellhole High???" I swear, I didn't make this up. And what does that say for me? I DID graduate from there, LOL!

How inspiring... And how slow am I to find something positive...

That doesn't say much for me, sadly, but like millions of others, I clicked on this and I was crying like a girl. (Don't deny that you welled up.) Stories like this don't happen for real. We're a cynical species, just watch the audience members when Susan talks about herself and her song choice.
Susan Boyle

This was NOTsomething I counted on....

But I have been astounded by the international hits I get on my blog. I nearly every continent, But for the fun of it I am going to try to lure in a few visitors from off the wall places so I'm going to occasionally be posting a country or continent and see what comes of it, starting with:

Antarctica:

1. Antarctica is the coldest and windiest of all the continents.
2. To the surprise of many, Antarctica is also the driest of all the continents receiving a mere sprinkling of rain and snow once or twice a year.
3. Antarctica gets its name from the Greek language. In a bit of deviousness, the term because it means opposite the Arctic.
4. The continent was discovered in 1820 by a Russian expedition, but was not further explored to any serious extent for another 100 years.
5. No permanent human residents are known to have ever lived on the continent and even today only temporary scientific communities exist.
6. Antarctica, not the Sahara Desert, is technically the biggest desert in the world, but the desert is ice instead of snow.
7. The ice sheet covering the continent is approximately 1.6 miles thick on average and holds 90 percent of the fresh water on the planet in the form of ice.
8. The ice sheet was melting dramatically. In 2002, over 1,000 square miles broke off the continent. In recent years, unusual amounts of snow fall have resulted in a thickening of the ice contrary to global warming concerns.
9. The continent is the only natural habitat of the Emperor Penguin, immortalized in the movie March of the Penguins. The penguin, however, also is found on the shoreline of some southern continents from time to time.
10. The continent has no government and is not owned by any country. Many countries have claimed the continent at one time or another. Currently, a treaty exists that grants the continent its independence from any such claims.

Antarctica has no permanent residents, but a number of governments maintain permanent manned research stations throughout the continent. The number of people conducting and supporting scientific research and other work on the continent and its nearby islands varies from about 1,000 in winter to about 5,000 in the summer. Many of the stations are staffed year-round, the over-wintering personnel typically arriving from their home countries for a one-year assignment. An Orthodox church opened in 2004 at the Russian Bellingshausen Station is also manned year-round by one or two priests, which are similarly rotated every year.

I teach Sunday School.. How dangerous is that???

We have something that my class members call the "Duh factor." I invented it and it talks about the fact our church members were run out of the states and there was a little thing called the Constitution that promised freedom of religion. We lost many of our ancestors (men) to war. Fighting for the country who failed them. In my lesson today we learned about John Taylor who eventually became the third prophet and always showed remarkable courage. Here are two stories I gave in my lesson:

John Taylor Stops a Tar-and-Feathering Threat

Near Columbus, Ohio, a very large crowd of people had gathered to hear Elder John Taylor speak. Before the meeting began, Elder Taylor had been warned by Church members that some men had tar and feathers ready and had “boasted they would dress him [in the tar and feathers] if he undertook to preach” (Roberts, The Life of John Taylor, p. 53). Undaunted, Elder Taylor replied he had made up his mind to speak.

Elder Taylor began by reminding the crowd that he now stood “ ‘among men whose fathers fought for and obtained one of the greatest blessings ever conferred upon the human family—the right to think, to speak, to write … , and the right to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences—all sacred human rights … guaranteed by the American Constitution. …’ [Then Elder Taylor boldly proclaimed,] ‘I have been informed that you purpose to tar and feather me, for my religious opinions. Is this [what] you have inherited from your fathers? Is this the blessing they purchased with their dearest hearts’ blood—this your liberty? If so, you now have a victim.’ … Here he tore open his vest and said: ‘Gentlemen come on with your tar and feathers, your victim is ready. … Come on, gentlemen! Come on, I say, I am ready!’

“No one moved, no one spoke. [John Taylor] stood there drawn to his full height, calm but defiant—the master of the situation.

“After a pause of some moments he continued his remarks and preached with great boldness and power for some three hours. [After the meeting,] the brethren still insisted that … the intention of the crowd [had been to tar and feather him], but they had been awed into silence by the boldness of Elder Taylor” (Roberts, The Life of John Taylor, pp. 54–55).




John Taylor Strengthened Church Members during Times of Persecution

The following incident took place during some extremely critical years for the Latter-day Saints. In 1854 “a special call from President Young … directed [Elder Taylor] to go to New York City to organize and publish a newspaper whose purpose would be to present the doctrines and practices of the Church in such a way as to neutralize … anti-Mormon feeling that had been mounting for over a year. … Additional brethren [were] to organize and publish Latter-day Saint newspapers in other key cities— … Washington, D.C.; … St. Louis; … San Francisco” (Francis M. Gibbons, John Taylor: Mormon Philosopher, Prophet of God [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1985], p. 138). Elder Taylor took up his residence in New York City and remained there until 1857.

This period climaxed when the United States government in Washington, D.C., sent an army to Utah. The army was to put down what was thought to be a rebellion. In New York, Elder Taylor defended the Mormon people against some governmental powers who were trying to destroy them. He challenged the enemies of the Church “ ‘to prove that “Mormonism” is less moral, scriptural, philosophical; or that there is less patriotism in Utah than in any other part of the United States. We call for proof; bring on your reasons, gentlemen, if you have any; we shrink not from the investigation, and dare you to the encounter’ ” (B. H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church, 4:63).

As a result of public sentiment and legislation against the Church and against plural marriage, many men in the Church were imprisoned. Many others went into hiding to prevent imprisonment. John Taylor was the senior Apostle following the death of Brigham Young in 1877 until he became President of the Church himself in 1880. He with his counselors, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith, went into hiding in 1885, placing their trust in the Lord.

Here is a link to the lesson I taught today:
John Taylor -Defender of the Faith


Again I'm having trouble with the link feature, so you may have to copy and paste.

"9/11 was an inside job"

I saw a lot of President Obama souvenirs while on Oahu. They are proud and have every right to be. He was born there and the people there along with his mother and grandparents shaped him into what he is today. He's released the Bush Administration torture reports. I also saw a sign with a bumper sticker that said "9/11 was an inside job". So many Americans are shocked, in denial, or flat out rationalizing something many of us have known all along. The Bush Administration were indeed guilty of torture, cruel and unusual punishment, behaving in a way that we condemned Saddam Hussein of, and even death. There are many Democrats calling for blood. Here's my take: First, it's the tip of the iceberg, wait till they look deeper into 9/11. Second, with what time and enormous amount taxpayers money is President Obama expected to go after these crimes. It's getting to the point even the Republicans with single digit IQs are catching on that Bush was a criminal and Cheney will be burning in hell before the trial is over. They are ruined. They are more of an embarrassment to the GOP than Nixon and I think that the very next Republican President will issue pardons just like they did for Nixon. None of this old Administration will see the inside of a prison cell. But you can't erase memos that clearly state that these men were no better than terrorists. In fact, it maybe possible that they ARE terrorists. Keep watching, there is something seriously wrong with the 9/11 story. And the people of our country that died for nothing in this farce of a war and in 9/11 will never be brought back. The satisfaction of the truth may be all we can afford right now.
Update: I tried not to watch this before I wrote this blog because it's something I'm torn on but it's hard to dispute this either (except that I believe that there is much more to come):

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Update #2: I still think that we don't know the extent of the crimes committed. I think that the divisiveness of our country was totally underscored by the stupid tea parties. I would really love to see these right wingnuts that trotted out the old tired accusations (i.e. President Obama's birth place, his OBVIOUS terrorist ties due to his name, his backbreaking taxes on the middle class (like these ANY of these nut jobs fall into the the tax bracket that WILL see an increase)) define facist. I have to admit there is some satisfaction in watching these loons highlight the insanity that is the GOP.

Are remakes EVER a good idea???

Okay maybe Batman was... oh and Willy Wonka. Gene Wilder came off a little pedophile-ish, but the Boston Tea party??.C'mon, it's been done and it was done well the first time. I hope all of the right wingnuts know their history well enough to know it was early colonists in Massachusetts protesting paying taxes to the British Government.The issue wasn't paying the tax, it was who they had to pay it to. They wanted to pay their taxes to their own government. Ultimately playing a big part in the Revolutionary War. So now we have all these lunatic far right wing fanatics dressing up as tea bags, early colonists, protesting the very government the ACTUAL brave disgruntled colonists fought to create. It's really been fairly amusing to me. But it seems like a parody of something wonderful in our country's history.
So my mom called me last night to tell me that her friend there had attended one of these tea parties. I was actually shocked because the population there is barely breaking 100 AND I would have pegged my mom's friend as a Dem. So I look to see how many are going on in Utah... Wow! I think these wingnuts and their leader Glenn Beck needs to remember that tea is against the Word of Wisdom. Pretending it's tea but drinking something else could be construed as "the appearance of evil". Get a ham, some funeral potatoes and a Jello salad and call it a costume/pot luck party. Leave the heroes in history alone.
Now the Governor of Texas wants to secede?? A civil war? A Revolutionary AND a Civil war??? Will they name their country Texas? They aren't legally allowed to secede the whole state, but they CAN break it up into 4 states and then they could leave the rogue American patriot sympathizers in a small corner they leave behind. The last American Civil War had much to do with where a man's place should be according to his skin color. I'm a bit disturbed that THAT is what this one would be about as well. Because we all know that you can "blah blah blah" all you want about taxes, less government, and socialism but the truth is you are a bigot. The President of the UNITED States of America is black and far more intelligent, moral, and inspiring than anyone you know or have ever encountered. You don't think he belongs there. He's forgotten his station. You still pass down the racial hatred to your children and act like it's something to be proud of. Like I said before, there are pirates, traitors, hate mongers and disloyal people in America. How many people would give anything to have the opportunities that we enjoy. Your racist legacy is something that will continue to be passed on and that is nothing to be proud of. Our future depends on the best and the brightest of our children. America is no longer a country of white supremacy or segregation, it was never meant to be and honestly, it never really was. But that all of these fanatics who are clinging to racial hatred is sad and dangerous. People speak of socialism like it's a plague, but the real sickness is the people who truly cling to some twisted idea of totalitarianism (look it up). Out of curiosity who would lead the new country called Texas? The current Governor or the previous President. And when you declare war against America, where will you get your troops? Over the fence? You definitely need a game plan.

For those of you who want a good laugh now the tax deadline has come and gone, here is a link to some various tea parties:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/searchG/?cx=partner-pub-3264687723376607%3Atlvacw-gkue&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=tea+bag&sa.x=0&sa.y=0&sa=Search#1391

Sorry, I can't embed this for some reason but the stories are on the left hand side of the page and there are several pages of the different tea parties.

Also on this one feel free to tattle to my mom.