Dr. Who's Cutie

I'm in love with a cute little alien baby. In last weeks "Dr. Who", a bad alien nanny was breeding little cutie pie alien babies by selling the U.K. diet pills. People would lose weight because these cute little guys would spring forth from their sleeping bodies having been formed by their fat cells. They were so cute babbling baby talk and wobbling around. Mandy and I just loved them! I think I found my new diet! LOL

Save the Bunnies!

I love politics and the media. My viewpoint on the whole FLDS thing - Why didn't AZ & UT do something about these cases years ago? We saw these families in Flagstaff, AZ every summer. Murray, UT (a big city by Utah standards) has a group. Why were UT and AZ so passive?

Why did Texas overplay its hand by taking ALL the children? They should have taken girls fitting the 14 to 17 year old profile, established a case, and moved forward from there. They've now created a financial, legal mess that will make other states hesitate.

Case in point - there are polygamists in almost every state and in many religions - just do a google search. You'll even find an evagelical Christian group. In CA, I met a very nice Hispanic woman with 4 children who confided to me that her Islamic husband was going to find another wife (I think he was allowed three). She was number 2 & that it was breaking her heart.

Anyway, I found a blog I loved on the subject. This guy should sell "Save the Bunny" T-shirts. I'd buy one. He really gets what the issue is.

http://mormanity.blogspot.com/
Thursday, April 17, 2008
by Jeff Lindsay

The Media on Hefner and Other Exploiters of Young Women: Is It Time to Raid the Another Compound?

Just a couple days before I heard the shocking stories about the raids on that strange fundamentalist compound in Texas, I heard another story about Hugh Hefner and the Playboy Mansion. Predictably, it was a positive, glowing story - have you ever heard any other tone from the mainstream media about Hefner? Then came the FLDS story and the massive moral outrage about old men exploiting young girls (yes, of course this is wrong) and the the repugnant nature of one man having more than one wife. In spite of my church having encouraged polygamy until 1890, and in spite of my acceptance of the Bible as scripture, where polygamists like Abraham are treated with respect, I struggle with the concept in era and am glad it's relegated to our distant past. So I can understand the moral stance of the media being quite upset over the allegations from that fundamentalist group in Texas. But I wonder if anyone has considered comparing the polygamist pariahs to the media's favorite idol, Hugh Hefner?Hugh has better lawyers, of course, or at least listens to them, and is careful to avoid exploiting women under the age of 18 (perhaps with a couple of minor exceptions (search for "youngest"), so to speak, when a 16-year-old Playmate in the early days lied about her age, and then there was a 16-year-old in Germany who posed for the German edition). But here we have a guy in his 70s exploiting multiple young college girls. They are plural throw-away wives, in a sense, who sign contracts, get rights, money, benefits, and become his temporary playthings. Lower than wives. More troubling than plural marriage, IMO. And the media loves it, celebrates it, encourages it - have you ever seen a major reporter or journalist point out the "yuck factor" here? I don't watch much TV, so I may have missed it, but what I've seen has been 100% adulation. Have any of Hefner's girls been asked tough questions on TV about their physical relationship with such an old, filthy lecher? Anyone creating a sense of shame over the debauchery and licentiousness that goes on in the Playboy Mansion? You want gross, that is the capital. But I've heard journalists indicate that they would love to be invited to a party there, as if it would be about the highest honor they could hope for. And can you think of anyone in the major networks who cries shame?What makes a 70-something lecher genuinely corrupting multiple young "throwaway wives" so wonderful compared to FLDS polygamy? The anonymous complainer was allegedly 16, which is terribly young, but actually legal marriage age in many states if there is parental consent. Do those two years make that big of a moral difference? Yes, we need to protect young women from older men. Maybe we could start with a raid on the Playboy compound to free the exploited Bunnies, and expose one of the most vile men and most vile empires of all time. Authorities, please feel free to use this post as your anonymous tip. (5-17-08: For troubled readers, this is not a serious request.)I would also suggest that media-celebrated agencies like Planned Parenthood, in encouraging sexual promiscuity among teenagers, are inevitably promoting sexual activities between young girls and older men. I think moral outrage about immorality and the exploitation of young women needs to extend to groups and empires other than just fringe religions.This nation would be much healthier if we celebrated high moral standards at all levels, rather than celebrating the ultimate in moral trash as a subject of envy.

Newest Member of the Dress-Up Club

Dressing-up is in the gene pool! I first really fell for Lin when he was running around in a toga playing "Bottom" in a Midsummer Night's Dream. Those were in the days of our beautiful summer Park City romance. My husband still gets paid to wear costumes all the time. The newest is $1000 to appear in a carpet companies ad. They liked his Teaching Company video and looked him up by calling the high school How cool and what a blessing!

Shauna, Mandy, and Ariel all loved to dress-up. For many years we were a home full of princesses. Makayle & Sariah loved to dress-up. Lin, as a 3-year-old, spent almost every day in costume with the loyal Paige by his side. Yet, it was still a surprise when Laura came up to me all dressed up and just as proud as can be. She was so excited I could see the energy radiating from her toes to the top of her head. So fun! Hope you like the pictures!

LIttle Man is Growing Up!

I love Lin's very active imagination and his love of role-play. Just ran into this old picture and it reminded me of how much growth and change has happened in a short period of time. Lin's hair is now short. His little body is filling out. Lin still cries about getting dressed for church but goes to class by himself. He still loves "squoooshie hugs" and "beeeeg hugs". Lin's ever the romantic with flowers for mom. He presented me with a toy tiara to wear yesterday and called it "a gift of love". I'm lucky he's such a kind, thoughtful, and sweet big brother for Laura . He loves her "so much with all his heart".

Go Directly to Shauna's Nerd Blog!! & Welcome Home Sarah!

Just watched Shauna's tribute to nerdy boys. Fabulous!
Welcome home Sarah! Glad your mom had a great surprise birthday!
Now go directly to Shauna's blog and have fun.
I'm too sleepy to think straight.
Love to all!

Condi Rice for VP! Finally, someone is paying attention to me!

Okay, I've been talking about this for a while. I actually wanted to make "Condi for President" shirts but got caught up in the whole "Mitt Romney thing". I'd love Mitt as VP but there is no way two old white men are going to beat the Democrat's history making ticket. I still think Miss Rice would make an awesome president but I'll settle for VP. My dream ticket is Mitt and Condi for 2012! Yeah!

Here's a great article posted in "The Nation" by Nicholas von Hoffman
Vice President Rice?
[posted online on February 13, 2008]
Who's John McCain's scariest running mate? Take your pick on the Nation Poll.
Democrats who think it's going to be a cakewalk into the White House next November had best remember one name: Condoleezza Rice.
John McCain is a formidable candidate in his own right, but if he has the political imagination to do it, he can cause the party of Jefferson and Jackson indescribable angst with Rice as his vice-presidential pick.
Besides being the greatest two-for in GOP history, Rice brings other huge pluses to the decorated Vietnam hero. Indeed, she may be enough to elect the venerable hero/naval aviator.
McCain's troubles with the religious wing of his party could well evaporate with the churchgoing Rice at his side. She solidifies that part of his base overnight.
With Rice on the ticket, the GOP would have somebody to get enthusiastic about. The Secretary of State is immensely popular with Republicans. For a party that up to now has been clueless about how to run against either a woman or a person of color, Condoleezza Rice is pure political gold.
Woe to any Democrat who thinks taking her on in a debate is a sure thing. The woman is tough, fast on her feet and able to give better than she gets. Anyone who has seen her in action testifying in front of a hostile House or Senate committee knows that she will be able to wipe up the floor with a plodding, ordinary pol of a Democratic vice-presidential candidate. Take Rice lightly at your peril.
In the ordinary course of things the ideal vice-presidential candidate is relied upon to carry his or her home state and keep out of trouble. With Condi the GOP gets a lot more. It gets a superstar to match the Democrats' superstars. If it comes to name recognition, glamour and magnetism for conservatives, Condi is dandy. Also, it is a plus for the GOP team that she is a snappy dresser.
Rice's presence on the ticket deprives the Democrats of the we-are-more-diverse-than-thou argument. It makes McCain--whose ethnically diverse family includes an adopted daughter from Bangladesh--an even more attractive candidate for a certain kind of independent voter.
Rice can rightly be attacked for serving Bush and backing an unpopular and disastrous war. But McCain, who is extremely pro-war himself, is not going to select a running mate who is wishy-washy on Iraq. Rice is also said to have done a poor job running the State Department, where morale is supposed to have dropped faster than a subprime mortgage. However, you can put the number of voters who give a rodent's behind about the care and feeding of cookie-pushing diplomats in a phone booth, if phone booths still existed.
With Rice on the ticket the Republicans are freed up to run a much stronger negative campaign against either Clinton or Obama because the Secretary of State provides them with cover against charges of sexism or racism. They would be able to go after Obama's membership in Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. Its minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., with whom Obama is close, has won himself the militant tag from conservatives because of his association with Nation of Islam leader the Rev. Louis Farrakhan.
They can attack Hillary's experience claims as consisting of her being Bill's wife. They can challenge her boast that she is a strong, independent woman and paint her as a weak, hopelessly-in-love woman under the spell of a man subject not only to "bimbo eruptions" but also eruptions of smarmy deals with shady business figures.
Lastly, Rice is a notorious sports fan with excruciatingly detailed knowledge of much of its arcana. She's often said that her dream job is commissioner of the National Football League; however, in a pinch she would probably settle for Vice President of the United States

Thank you Charlton Heston!

Charlton Heston passed away yesterday. I was sad to hear this but happy for him. Alzheimer's is such a terrible thing. I think in heaven, Charlton Heston will enjoy meeting so many of the people he played in biographical movies. I think he will also be surprised at the many stories of people finding their faith through his films that will greet him, like mine.

I grew up watching "The Ten Commandments". Arnold Friberg, the noted LDS artist designed sets and costumes. According to Wikipedia, "Friberg, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also contributed the manner of Moses ordaining Joshua to his mission at the end of the film: hands on Joshua's head. Friberg, demonstrated the LDS manner of performing such ordinations, and DeMille liked it." In our ward building is a picture by Friberg of Moses parting the Red Sea and you can see that Heston was his model. As a child, I watched this film on a annual basis. It really taught me the story of Moses and to love an appreciate his story as an archetype of the Savior. The movie does a good job of showing how ungrateful, petulent, and disobedient the Hebrews were. Only those born in the wilderness could follow with a pure intent. Great symbolism for our own battles with sin and how it has to be completely left behind for us to fully follow the Savior.

Ben-Hur is an epic movie with stunning images. This was the only large picture I could find from the production but if you have a chance, check out the DVD at the video store. Judah Ben-Hur's story of conversion has always stuck with me. His joy at finding his loved ones healed of leporsy. His sorrow as he helps carry the cross beam. I also loved Victor Mature in "The Robe" for the same reason. "Ben-Hur" and "The Robe" were novels, then movies in popular culture that showed big strong men breaking down and finding faith in Jesus Christ. No wonder these stories are so well loved.

The last picture is from "The Hawaiians". My kids will recognize the title because I always tell them about the "Moo Kau's Aunty" character who looks at her kids and says, "You doctor, you lawyer, etc." Love it! I do the same thing on a lesser scale with our kids. I've asked them questions and made suggestions since they were little. I figuare things only happen if you dream big for your kids and plant seeds of faith in them. You can become whatever you want to in life but dream big! Aunty, on the other hand, is the shrewdest business woman on the islands and Heston's only match. She wants to build a dynasty. I want to build one too but I'm not as fanatical. I'm only telling my kids "Dentist, Lawyer, Optomestrist..." Haven't decided on the other three yet!

My sincere condolences to the Heston family and a thank you to Charlton Heston for the wonderful roles he played and especially these three that have touched me the most.