Tell Me What the Difference Is

Osama bin Laden and Colin Kaepernick 

Tell me what the difference is.

I just read an article in the Deseret News that pushed me over the brink into blogging about this "controversy" that seems to be taking over the news media. I wasn't going to chime in but now I am.

The news article I read was comparing Colin Kaepernick to Mohammed Ali. The article painted a favorable portrayal of both aforementioned people. Basically it was saying that Mohammed Ali had to pay the price socially for standing up for what he believed. He was banned from boxing for a while and had to pay a fine. The article was comparing Kaepernick's ignorant, childish, disrespectful antics to Mohammed Ali's and stated that if you loved Ali then you shouldn't criticize Kaepernick.

Well, guess what? Both Mohammad Ali and Colin Kaepernick are selfish yellow bellied cowards. Neither of them deserves any respect from anybody. Of course the media will paint them as heroes, but they are far from it. They're disrespectful, disgusting, ignorant, selfish cowards.

I know all the arguments -- they are all pathetically ridiculous. Of course people have their agency and can do whatever they want. But there are always consequences to your choices. If you choose to dodge the draft and cowardly refused to fight for your country -- there are consequences. We have laws. If you don't obey the laws, you suffer the consequence. You go to jail. You pay fines. Etc.

Mohammad Ali was a selfish, panseric, pathetic coward. Anyone who doesn't believe that is hoodwinked and brainwashed by the media.  Kind of ironic that he was a fighter yet refused to fight for his country. That's the epitome of cowardice and hypocrisy. Obviously Muslims have no problem fighting and killing innocent people. Does September 11, 2001 ring a bell?

I can see where the author of the article would compare Muhammad Ali to Kaepernick -- in that they are both cowards and both ignorant idiots. But making them out to be some kind of social heroes is beyond ridiculous and disgusting.

I want to quote from Rush Limbaugh because I think he says it better than I can.

"Now, I want to issue a -- I don't know what you call this, a message. I just want to say something to you players of the National Football League. The American people love your sport. The American people respect you who have the unique human ability to play it at the level you play it. But the American people are not going to sit by idly and watch the stage of the National Football League stolen and used for personal political purposes."

"You players in the NFL, you can go ahead and try to continue stealing the stage of the NFL if you want. You can take the example of Kaepernick and you can try to get some news coverage, you can draw attention to yourself, but you run the risk of obliterating the stage on which you perform that earns you your living and gives you the opportunity to succeed beyond your wildest dreams. You better be careful in what and how you express your thoughts on this country, the greatest place in the history of mankind. And the residents of this country are among the luckiest in the history of all humanity. The National Football League is on TV. It can easily be turned off. The National Football League is sponsored by [stuff] that can easily be not purchased. Not that hard. Just turn it off." -- Rush Limbaugh, August 30, 2016

This is a free country. The Constitution of The United States of America, established by God, guarantees in the First Amendment, the freedom of speech. People can express their opinions without oppression of the government. But recognize, that what you say can very much affect the rest of your life. Many careers have been ruined by what people have said. Just because you have the right to say something doesn't mean that there won't be consequences. Every choice has a consequence. Whether good or bad, big or small.

And remember, who gave you that right? People who weren't cowards and weren't afraid to fight for their country and for their rights. Many good Americans have died to preserve our freedoms. And you, Colin Kaepernick and Mohammed Ali, spit on their graves, by your actions. You disgust me.

My own father and grandfathers and other ancestors have fought valiantly and selflessly for this country to preserve our freedoms. I don't take kindly to people disrespecting my family or my country.  Especially ignorant, panseric, selfish cowards like Kaepernick and Ali. You are disgusting slime who I am ashamed to call fellow citizens of this, the greatest nation in the history of mankind.

That's my two cents.

The Rockin' Rainbows

The Rockin' Rainbows were perhaps the best dance group of the 1980s.  The Solid Gold dancers had nothing on us.  :-)

The Rockin' Rainbows was a group comprised of three sisters and our neighborhood friend.  Me, my sister Lisa, my sister Juliet, and our childhood friend Charity.

Our repertoire was quite vast considering we ranged in age from 9-12 when we started the group.

Some of the songs I remember that we choreographed and danced to were: My Boyfriend's Back, Heart Attack (I'm not sure that's the actual title of the song), Physical, Stray Cat Strut, Nobody, Snapshot, etc.  I'm sure there were more, I just don't recall all of them.  Perhaps Lisa does.  :-)

We were big time.  :-) I made matching outfits for all of us complete with our initial appliquéd onto a cloud at the end of a rainbow.  The appliqué was satin sewed on Lycra/spandex.  Not an easy task for a 12 or 13 year old.  They actually turned out awesome!  It was a dark blue Lycra/spandex leotard complete with sleeves and a ruffle.  I remember them very well.  And the appliqué was designed and cut out separately with each color sewn together complete with initial and then sewn onto the leotard.

If you're wondering why we called ourselves The Rockin' Rainbows, it's quite simple.  Rainbows were big in the 80s.  Rainbow shirts were all the rage.  Even Care Bears had a bear with a rainbow, Cheer bear. Of course, that was my favorite.  Pink with a rainbow.  :-)

I thought it would be cool to put our initial on a cloud at the end of the rainbow.  And everyone's initial was a different color.  Charity -- purple, Lisa -- yellow, Tammy -- green, Juliet -- red.

Once we had enough songs in our repertoire to do a performance, we scheduled the performance and sold tickets.  Unfortunately we weren't as well-received as we had hoped and ended up giving tickets away.  :-) We did have a few people show up though. As I recall, the performance was in our backyard.

Our most memorable performance for me was in Juliet's and Charity's fourth grade class.  I was in seventh grade and the performance was at the end of the day after I got out of school but before the elementary school got out.  I remember riding my bike home from the junior high school as fast as I could to make it to the elementary school in time to do the performance. Of course we looked great in our matching Rockin' Rainbows outfits. I'm sure we were a hit.  :-) I still can't believe their fourth grade teacher let us do that.

We spent a lot of our free time choreographing and practicing our dance moves.  Usually in the yard at 852.  :-)  That's when we weren't rollerskating, or riding our bikes all over Orem, or taking the bus to the mall.

We moved from the neighborhood in 1986.  Charity spent a lot of that summer with us in Salem.  Unfortunately, we drifted apart after school started and that was the demise of The Rockin' Rainbows.  :-(

The Rockin' Rainbows -- same photo, different effects
Unfortunately, this is the only photo of The Rockin' Rainbows that we found.  I know there is also a splits version of this.  I will add it to this post if/when we find it.

The Rockin' Rainbows
Summer 1986
Charity, Lisa, Tammy, Juliet

RIP Charity Moore

I have been wanting to do a post on the Rockin' Rainbows for a couple of years now but didn't have the pictures.  Apparently they are quite elusive.  Lisa found this one this morning.  I know there is also one of us doing the splits.  It is awesome. I will do the Rockin' Rainbows post a little later.

Unfortunately, our childhood friend and youngest member of the Rockin' Rainbows died on Sunday.  Charity Moore (Hardman) was in a fatal motorcycle accident on August 14.  She is on the far left in the picture.

The Rockin' Rainbows
1986
Charity, Lisa, Tammy, Juliet 

I have many fond memories of Charity. I will list just a few.

• Charity was Juliet's age, actually four months younger, but because she was tall, she always looked older.  Perhaps that is one of the reasons why she always wanted to be older than she was.  And tried to act older than she was.  In the above picture Charity is only 12 years old.

• Charity spent a lot of time at our house in North Orem (852).  She lived a street away.  Being the same age, she and Juliet were the closest but my sisters and I were all good friends with her. Sadly, we moved out of the neighborhood in 1986 and drifted apart.

• I don't remember if this is how the Rockin' Rainbows got started but I remember Charity telling us about a new song she really liked called "Mickey" by a singer named "Toni Dazzle".  For those of you not familiar with the 80s, her real name is Toni Basil.  :-) 

• I'm not sure whose idea this was but we started a club in our neighborhood called "The Harley Hoggers" which was a members only club.  Of course Charity was one of the fledgling members. We ruled the neighborhood!  :-)

• When we lived at 852 the UTA bus service just started.  I remember riding the bus with my sisters and Charity to the mall.  That was a big deal.  :-)

• We also used to ride our bikes all over the city.  Kmart, Scera pool, Buoy? Foods, and of course Maverick and Mister G's gas and goodies.

• Roller skating in our basement and cul-de-sac and around the neighborhood.  Lisa's got a great story about roller skating.  :-)

• Riding in the back of Dad's '50 Chevy pickup truck.  And yellow metal trailer. And let's not forget the green machine!  :-)

• Tigaro Juniero (Tiger's puppies) and Licorice (A dog we had for a short time). 

• After we moved in the summer of 1986, Charity spent a lot of time with us.  I remember going to Salem Pond with orange and yellow floatation mats we nicknamed "banana" and "tanana". I think Charity probably named tanana. 

• Juliet and Charity loved their "punk clips".

• Going around the neighborhood selling homemade suckers, Rockin' Rainbows performance tickets, and walkathon pledges, etc..  Of course Charity was the outgoing one so she was delegated the spokesman usually.

• And of course my favorite memory, doing a Rockin' Rainbows performance for Juliet's and Charity's fourth grade class. More on that in my upcoming Rockin' Rainbows blog post.

Those are some of my memories of Charity Moore.  I still remember her birthday.  My nephew, Elijah, was born on her birthday.  And I can almost remember her phone number.  Perhaps Juliet does.  :-)

RIP Charity!  Thanks for the memories.

Daily message

"I can emphatically state that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, ultimately, in the eternal scheme of things, there will be no unfairness."

-- Elder Dale G. Renlund, April 2016

Chicken Pot Pie - Party Size

Chicken Pot Pie -- Party Size

Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten 

Makes two extra large casserole dishes

Ingredients:

• 3 pints canned chicken
• 6 Tablespoons olive oil
• Salt-and-pepper
• 15 cups chicken stock
• 2 ¼ cups (4 ½  sticks) unsalted butter
• 6 cups yellow onions, chopped (6 onions)
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour
• 1 cup heavy cream or sour cream
• 8 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes
• 8 cups diced potatoes, boiled five minutes
• 8 cups frozen peas 
• 4 cups diced celery

For the pastry:

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 to 1 1/3 cups ice water
• 1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon water, for egg wash
• Salt-and-pepper

Directions:

Drain canned chicken, reserving broth for sauce. Place chicken in large bowl. Add olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix together thoroughly. Set aside while preparing vegetables. Add vegetables to chicken mixture.

In a stockpot, heat the chicken stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and sauté the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 1-2 Tablespoons salt (2 if chicken stock is unsalted), 1 ½ teaspoons pepper, and heavy cream or sour cream. Add to the chicken, carrots, peas, potatoes and celery. Mix well.

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Pour filling into 2 extra-large rectangular casserole dishes.  Divide dough in half and roll out dough into rectangles to cover casserole dishes. Crimp the edges. Brush the dough with egg wash.  Cut slits in top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for one hour or until the top is golden brown and filling is bubbling hot.

*Alternatively you could use store-bought pie crust or puff pastry from the grocery store in lieu of the homemade pastry topping.

Delicious!

Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke

Apparently there was a shooting in Milwaukee this past weekend.  A cop shot an armed thug.  And ignorant people who believe liberal lies are up in arms about it. Protesting, rioting, etc. 

Rush Limbaugh quoted from Milwaukee Sheriff, David Clarke, who hit the nail on the head and had some enlightened words he shared with the news media. Here's an excerpt from Rush Limbaugh.com:

CLARKE:  Saturday night, the social order totally collapsed in a part of the city of Milwaukee.  And when that happens, tribal behavior takes over, and tribal behavior leads to the law of the jungle replacing the rule of law.  Here's what causes riots: We have inescapable poverty in the city of Milwaukee.  Milwaukee's like the sixth poorest city in America.  You have massive black unemployment.  I think it's at 32%.  You have a failing K-12 public education system.  It's one of the worst in the nation.  You have questionable lifestyle choices.  Some of this is self-inflicted.  All these kids with no fathers around, father-absent homes.  When fathers aren't around to shape the behavior of young men, they oftentimes grow up to be unmanageable misfits.  Those are the ingredients; Milwaukee has all of them.

Seventy percent of the kids born in Milwaukee, at least for the last decade or so, are born without an engaged father in their life.  So I look at the progressive policies that have marginalized black dads. They pushed them to the side and said, "You're not needed. Uncle Sam is going to be the dad.

"He's gonna provide for the kids. He's going to feed the kids," and so on and so forth. But Uncle Sam has been a horrible father. Uncle Sam does not love these kids.  It might keep a little food in their mouth and that's about it.  But we all know the importance of an intact family, what it can do to shape the behavior of kids. 

This has been a total collapse, a disaster.  These progressive policies have hit the black community like a nuclear blast.  And until we reverse this, this government dependency... That's what creates all of this, and it encourages it, by the way, along with some questionable lifestyle choices.  But until the black community does a self-evaluation and until they begin to self-criticize about some of the lifestyle choices they're making, this stuff is gonna continue to fester, and it's gonna continue.

RUSH:  Now, this guy is going to be just lambasted as an Uncle Tom, as a traitor, as a sellout, as a tool for everything he's just said here.  But he's right on the money, and it's nothing new.  This has been the result of two things:  Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, which led to the War on Poverty.  And of course, it was greeted with massive fanfare, total applause. "Look at all the caring that we're gonna do! Look at all the compassion we have. Look at what good people we are! We're gonna get people out of poverty!"

And they've done nothing of the sort.  All they have done is convince people that the government is Santa Claus.  And as the Republican Party is finding, Santa Claus is tough to beat.  Now, Santa Claus may not bring a whole bunch of stuff, but he brings just enough, and there's another ingredient to this that the Sheriff Clarke alludes to here when he talks about how the federal government has assumed the role of father.  He is dead-on right about this. 

But then he talks about the importance of an intact family and what an intact family can do to shape the behavior of kids.  Guess what else is under assault in this country and being redefined?  You got it! The family.  The nuclear family is coming under attack, and families are being redefined to become normal with whatever anybody wants their family to be.  As a result it's disintegrating one of the most fundamental building blocks of an ordered, mannered, cultured society.  And it's also being done on purpose.

The Democrat Party's done more to -- liberalism is the most destructive force in our country today, bar none.

-- RushLimbaugh.com, Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke Just Absolutely Nails It, August 15, 2016

Rush and Sheriff Clarke are both absolutely right.  The downfall of our society is the result of absent fathers and the disintegration of the nuclear family.  Anyone who says that "everyone gets divorced" and "the kids are fine" is a brainwashed idiot.  Yes, a lot of people get divorced.  A lot of parents selfishly walk out on their spouses and children.  A lot of children are born to single mothers out of wedlock.  But the children are not just fine, it destroys them.  Even Rush Limbaugh and the Sheriff of Milwaukee understand that.

 That's my two cents.

Relief Society Lesson -- Sacrament

Video

My handout:

Kingston's baptism

I'm so proud of my nephew Kingston for choosing to follow Christ and to be baptized today.  I was happy to be able to attend the baptism.

Below are some family photos of those who attended.

Family group shot minus Dad 

Family group shot minus Rex 

Juliet, Aaron, Kingston, Kylee

Grandpa, Kingston, Grandma

Kingston with his cousins

Cody, Chanelle, Brandon, Kingston, Elijah, Kylee, Mercedes

Rex, Lisa, Kingston, Chanelle, Mercedes

:-) 

Brandon, Derrinda, Kingston, Cody, Elijah 

And of course I saved the best for last.  :-)

Kingston with Aunt Tammy

Congratulations on your baptism, Kingston!  I'm so proud of you for choosing to follow our Savior.  I hope you will always remember and keep the covenants you made today to always remember our Savior, to take His name upon you and to keep His commandments.  I love you Kingston!

Daily Message

"Don't camouflage who you are and what you believe. If others know what you believe, you will influence them for good. They will protect you."   — Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Never Hillary!

I stole the title from Rush Limbaugh.  I read something on his website today that prompted me to do this quick blog post.

Hillary Clinton is clueless.  That's the nicest thing I can say about her.  I thought about a bunch of other adjectives but I want to keep this short.  :-)

Hillary Clinton sent out a tweet about the Olympics.  No, it wasn't sent to congratulate the first American gold medal winner on a job well done.  It wasn't sent to any winners.  By the way the first American gold medal winner at these Summer Olympics in Rio happens to be a woman marksman.  Yes, to the horror of liberals everywhere, there is actually a sport in the Olympics that uses guns.

Of course Hillary would never dream of congratulating an American woman who won the first gold medal at the Olympics.  Especially not a marksman.  That goes against everything she stands for.

No, Hillary's tweet about the Rio Olympics was to point out that an American Muslim fencer was the first American Muslim athlete to compete at the Olympics wearing a hijab.

Isn't that something to be proud of?  And to top it off, she lost her first fencing match and is eliminated.  Isn't that newsworthy?

So Hillary is promoting a religion that oppresses women while shunning true American athletes who actually won their competitions. And this is coming from the first female presidential candidate who supposedly supports women's rights?

 Hillary is not only clueless and out of touch with reality but is unpatriotic and anti-American.  She feigns equality and women's rights while her whole goal is to suppress freedoms and take away our American rights.

Hillary's entire life has been led with her objective being to become President of the United States.  She will do and has done anything to get it.  Including murder.  Why she is not in prison is beyond me.  But what's even more preposterous is that she is a candidate for President of the United States.  Absurd!  Ridiculous!  Disgusting!

The fact that approximately half of the people in this country fall for her lies hook line and sinker is beyond unfathomable. How anyone could even think of voting for her is beyond me.

Never Hillary!

That's my two cents.

Big 12

The more wicked the world gets, the more stupid people get.  I like college football.  I've been following this saga lately of BYU potentially joining the Big 12.  The excuses people are coming up with to try to keep BYU out of the Big 12 are absurdly ridiculous.

I personally don't care one way or the other whether BYU joins the Big 12 or not.  I actually like them being independent.  Although I do understand the perks of joining a conference.

Just looking at the facts, of all the potential invitees, BYU would be the obvious number one choice.  I won't go into detail because that's not the purpose of this post.  On everybody's list that I've seen or read about, BYU is the number one choice.

There are many people who want to keep BYU out.  Mostly because of religious discrimination.  They started out arguing about Sunday play.  And how difficult it would be to include BYU because of their no Sunday play rule.  Okay first of all college football is overwhelmingly played on Saturday.  There may be one or two Sunday games each week but that is really a nonissue as a reason to keep BYU out of the Big 12.  Even in non-football sports BYU is easily accommodated.  And when they are not, they just don't play.  It's ridiculous argument intended to discriminate based on religion.

Now, the homosexual and transgender community has reared its ugly head and stuck its nose where it doesn't belong (since when are they so interested in sports?) and sent a letter to the Big 12 asking them not to invite BYU into their conference based on discrimination against homosexuals and transgenders. Really?  Since when has BYU refused to compete against any athletic team based on the opposing teams sexual/gender orientation, morals, views, etc.?  If BYU required all of their athletic competitors to abide by its honor code -- they would not be competing in any sports. That's preposterous.  BYU welcomes all opposing teams and doesn't discriminate.  They certainly don't expect or require opposing teams to abide by the honor code.  That's a very stupid argument.

The church actually teaches us to love everyone and treat everyone with respect.  But neither the Lord nor His church tolerates or condones sin.  Know the difference.

It is hypocritical and childish for the homosexual and transgender community to pull a tantrum by asking the Big 12 to exclude BYU based on religious beliefs yet base their argument on being excluded. They are basing their whole argument on discrimination -- religious discrimination -- yet they are claiming discrimination -- when there actually is none.  They are the ones doing the discriminating.  Ironic.

It brings to mind this scripture:
"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" -- Isaiah 5:20

The sad thing is is people actually buy into their absurd argument.  That's how stupid people are becoming.  They really start to believe that good is evil and evil is good.

If the Big 12 expands and doesn't invite BYU it will be based purely on religious discrimination and not on their accolades or laurels.  Because BYU is hands down the best choice.

I really hope the Big 12 doesn't let some bawl baby special interest group -- who's objective is to skew the truth and who aren't happy unless they're angry and picking on others -- influence their decision.   But I won't hold my breath.  

Unfortunately, more and more people are becoming pansies, believing lies and letting people bully them in the name of tolerance and acceptance.  It's a shame that people are so stupid.

That's my two cents.

Dad's Postop X-Rays

These x-rays were taken today, five days postop.

You can clearly see the bone cement that was injected into Dad's L1, L2, L3 vertebral bodies.

AP 

Lateral

Dad's Kyphoplasty

Yesterday dad had kyphoplasty surgery on his L1, L2, L3 vertebrae.

During the surgery specialized tubes are inserted, though tiny puncture incisions, into either side of the fractured vertebral body.  A balloon is then inserted into the tube, and into the collapsed vertebral body, and filled with liquid to restore the height of the fractured/collapsed vertebra.  The balloon is then deflated and removed and the vacant cavity is filled with highly viscous bone cement which hardens in about 5-10 minutes.

90% of patients with this procedure report 80 to 90% pain relief within two weeks.

Hopefully Dad will fee' and loo' like a new man very soon!

Rooted in Christ

"Jude’s words capture the inevitable emptiness of life that eventually envelops those who choose anyone or anything other than the Savior: “Clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots” (Jude 1:12)."

"Our souls should be so deeply rooted in Christ that we will be able to endure any challenge, triumph over any affliction, withstand any attack on our faith, and become like oak trees—firm, immovable, and steadfast. That kind of rootedness transcends time and outlasts every enemy, even the most subtle, invisible, and insidious ones."-- Elder L. Whitney Clayton, "Rooted in Christ", Ensign, August 2016

Behold the Man

"“Behold the man” indeed. He is the Son of the living God. He is the exemplar of life, the One sent to show the way and to be the Way. He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) for all of us. With those three words, “behold the man,” Pilate unknowingly and unintentionally expressed the simple formula for achieving the highest purposes of life."

"When Pilate asked the Jews to behold the Savior, he pointed them and us toward the One, the only one, who can make our lives abundant and our “salvation perfect.”1 Thus the commandment “Look to God and live” (Alma 37:47)."

"What we should remember when we behold Him is that because of Him, and all He did and all He was and is, we too can triumph. We also can overcome. We can live abundantly in the midst of trials. If we choose to “behold” Him and accept and apply His saving gospel, He will save us. He will rescue us from the effects of our own fallen natures and foibles, and He will save us from sin, from spiritual mediocrity, and from ultimate, eternal failure. He will purge, refine, beautify, and eventually even perfect us. He will give us joy and peace. He is the key to abundant life." --Elder L. Whitney Clayton, Senior President of the Seventy, "Rooted in Christ", Ensign, August 2016